NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY REVIEW 2006

NUCLEAR
TECHNOLOGY
REVIEW
2006

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International Atomic Energy Agency

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International Atomic Energy Agency
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NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY
REVIEW 2006
 The following States are Members of the International Atomic Energy Agency:

AFGHANISTAN GHANA PAKISTAN

ALBANIA GREECE PANAMA
ALGERIA GUATEMALA PARAGUAY
ANGOLA HAITI PERU
ARGENTINA HOLY SEE PHILIPPINES
ARMENIA HONDURAS POLAND
AUSTRALIA HUNGARY PORTUGAL
AUSTRIA ICELAND QATAR
AZERBAIJAN INDIA REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
BANGLADESH INDONESIA ROMANIA
BELARUS IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF RUSSIAN FEDERATION
BELGIUM IRAQ SAUDI ARABIA
BELIZE IRELAND SENEGAL
BENIN ISRAEL SERBIA
BOLIVIA ITALY SEYCHELLES
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA JAMAICA SIERRA LEONE
BOTSWANA JAPAN SINGAPORE
BRAZIL JORDAN SLOVAKIA
BULGARIA KAZAKHSTAN
SLOVENIA
BURKINA FASO KENYA
SOUTH AFRICA
CAMEROON KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
SPAIN
CANADA KUWAIT
SRI LANKA
CENTRAL AFRICAN KYRGYZSTAN
SUDAN
REPUBLIC LATVIA
SWEDEN
CHAD LEBANON
SWITZERLAND
CHILE LIBERIA
SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
CHINA LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA
TAJIKISTAN
COLOMBIA LIECHTENSTEIN
THAILAND
COSTA RICA LITHUANIA
THE FORMER YUGOSLAV
CÔTE D’IVOIRE LUXEMBOURG
REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
CROATIA MADAGASCAR
TUNISIA
CUBA MALAYSIA
CYPRUS MALI TURKEY
CZECH REPUBLIC MALTA UGANDA
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC MARSHALL ISLANDS UKRAINE
OF THE CONGO MAURITANIA UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
DENMARK MAURITIUS UNITED KINGDOM OF
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MEXICO GREAT BRITAIN AND
ECUADOR MONACO NORTHERN IRELAND
EGYPT MONGOLIA UNITED REPUBLIC
EL SALVADOR MOROCCO OF TANZANIA
ERITREA MYANMAR UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ESTONIA NAMIBIA URUGUAY
ETHIOPIA NETHERLANDS UZBEKISTAN
FINLAND NEW ZEALAND VENEZUELA
FRANCE NICARAGUA VIETNAM
GABON NIGER YEMEN
GEORGIA NIGERIA ZAMBIA
GERMANY NORWAY ZIMBABWE

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The Headquarters of the Agency are situated in Vienna. Its principal objective is “to accelerate and
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NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY
REVIEW 2006

INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY

VIENNA, 2006
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 CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

A. POWER APPLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

A.1. Nuclear Power Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

A.2. The Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
A.2.1. Rising Expectations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
A.2.2. Sustainable Development and Climate Change. . . . . . . 11
A.2.3. Key Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
A.2.4. Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

B. ADVANCED FISSION AND FUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

B.1. Advanced Fission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

B.2. Fusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

C. ATOMIC AND NUCLEAR DATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

D. ACCELERATOR AND
RESEARCH REACTOR APPLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

D.1. Accelerators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
D.2. Research Reactors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

E. RADIOISOTOPE APPLICATIONS AND RADIATION

TECHNOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

E.1. Radioisotope Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

E.2. Radiation Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
E.2.1. Nanotechnology for Industry and Health . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
E.2.2. Industrial Process Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

F. NUCLEAR TECHNIQUES IN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE . . 28

F.1. Crop Improvement and Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

F.2. Animal Production and Health. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
F.3. Food Quality and Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
G. HUMAN HEALTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

G.1. Nutritional and Health-related Environmental Studies . . . . . . 32

G.2. Nuclear Medicine in Imaging and Therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
G.3. Dosimetry and Medical Radiation Physics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
G.4. Radiopharmaceuticals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
G.5. Radiation Oncology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

H. WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

H.1. Water Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

H.1.1. Isotope Hydrology Techniques. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
H.1.2. Desalination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
H.2. Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
H.2.1. Demining. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
H.2.2. Radionuclide Tracers for Ocean Circulation and
Climate Coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
H.2.3. Bioaccumulation in Marine Food Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
H.2.4. Unravelling Carbon Cycles with
Compound-specific Isotope Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

ANNEX I: NUCLEAR POWER IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES . . 39

ANNEX II: STORAGE AND DISPOSAL OF SPENT FUEL
AND HIGH LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE . . . . . . . . . 54
ANNEX III: THE FRONT END OF THE URANIUM FUEL CYCLE . 69
ANNEX IV: APPLICATIONS OF NEUTRON BEAM TECHNOLOGY 84
ANNEX V: STERILE INSECT TECHNOLOGY —
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
ANNEX VI: ADVANCES IN MEDICAL RADIATION IMAGING
FOR CANCER DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT . . . . . . 110
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

While the current outlook for nuclear power remains mixed, 2005 was a
year of rising expectations. In March, high level representatives of
74 governments, including 25 representatives at the ministerial level, gathered
in Paris at a conference organized by the IAEA to consider the future role of
nuclear power. The vast majority of participants affirmed that nuclear power
can make a major contribution to meeting energy needs and sustaining the
world’s development in the 21st century for a large number of both developed
and developing countries. Rising expectations are driven by nuclear power’s
performance record, by growing energy needs around the world coupled with
rising oil and natural gas prices, by environmental constraints, by concerns
about energy supply security in a number of countries, and by ambitious
expansion plans in several countries.
There were 441 nuclear power plants in operation as of 31 December
2005 and 27 under construction. Four new nuclear power plants were
connected to the grid in 2005 (two in Japan and one each in India and the
Republic of Korea), and one laid-up plant was reconnected in Canada. There
were two nuclear power plant retirements, both in accordance with national
nuclear phase-out policies — the Obrigheim reactor in Germany, and
Barsebäck-2 in Sweden. There were three construction starts, Lingao-3 in
China, Olkiluoto-3 in Finland and Chasnupp-2 in Pakistan. Olkiluoto-3 is the
first new construction in Western Europe since 1991. Asia remains the centre of
expansion, accounting for 16 of the 27 reactors under construction at the end of
2005, and for 24 of the last 34 reactors to have been connected to the grid.
Uranium prices, which had been low and stable for the previous decade
and a half, continued their climb — from $25/kg in 2002 to $112/kg in May 2006.
Uranium production has been well below consumption for about 15 years, and
the current price increase reflects the growing perception that secondary
sources, which have covered the difference, are becoming exhausted.
As of the end of 2005, eight power plants had been completely
decommissioned, with the sites released for unconditional use. Seventeen had
been partially dismantled and safely enclosed, 31 were being dismantled prior
to eventual site release, and 30 were undergoing minimum dismantling prior to
long-term enclosure.
Progress on disposal facilities for high level waste is most advanced in
Finland, Sweden and the USA. In Finland, construction started in 2004 on an
underground characterization facility for the final repository at Olkiluoto. In
2005, Hungary and the Republic of Korea selected sites for their first
repositories for low level and intermediate level radioactive waste, following

1
favourable referenda in the communities chosen, and in Belgium two
communities voted to become candidate sites for a low level waste repository.
National research on advanced reactor designs continues for all reactor
categories — water cooled, gas cooled, liquid metal cooled, and hybrid systems.
Five members of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) signed a
framework agreement on international collaboration in research and
development on Generation IV nuclear energy systems in February 2005. The
IAEA’s International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles
(INPRO) grew to 24 members, with the addition in 2005 of Ukraine and the
United States of America. Current INPRO activities include completion of a
user manual on the INPRO methodology, application of the methodology to
assessing innovative nuclear energy systems (INSs) in national and
multinational studies, analyses of the role and structure of INSs in meeting
energy demands in a sustainable manner, and selection of the most suitable
areas for collaborative development.
A major advance in fusion energy occurred in June 2005 with the signing
of the joint declaration of all parties to the negotiations on the International
Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) and the agreement to start
construction at Cadarache, France. This decision signalled an important new
stage in the development of fusion energy — the scientific and engineering
demonstration of fusion technology in conditions relevant to operating a fusion
reactor for power production.
Both for power generation and all other applications of nuclear energy,
progress and improvements are underpinned by continuing basic nuclear
research. The realisation of fusion as a viable energy source requires research
in many areas, together with reliable atomic and nuclear data. Research reactor
applications support most areas of nuclear technology, and uses of new
research reactors, for example in isotope production, neutron beam utilization
and activation analyses for environment and food and agriculture, are reported
in this review.
Developments in accelerator based techniques, production of
radioisotopes and some novel uses of nanotechnology are also reported.
Nuclear technologies continue to play key and often unique roles in food
production and safety, in human and animal health, in water resource
management and in the environment. Mutation breeding of crops, for example,
has led to the use of previously unusable land in many countries for rice
production. In human health, the use of stable isotopes is becoming an
accepted tool for the development of nutrition programmes. Nuclear medicine
is benefiting from technological advances in computing. Sustainable water
management and desalination remain high on the international agenda. New
developments in isotopic analysis of hydrological samples hold promise for

2
increasing the use of isotopes in water resources management. Advances in
sampling and analytical techniques have assisted in better understanding of the
environment. Developments in all these areas are also reported.

3
 A. POWER APPLICATIONS

A.1. Nuclear Power Today1

Worldwide there were 441 nuclear power plants operating at the end of
2005, totalling 368 GW(e) of generating capacity, and supplying about 16% of
the world’s electricity. This percentage has been roughly stable since 1986,
indicating that nuclear power has grown at the same rate as total global
electricity for 19 years.
Four new nuclear power plants were connected to the grid in 2005 (two in
Japan and one each in India and the Republic of Korea), and one laid-up plant
was reconnected in Canada. This compares to five new grid connections (and
one reconnection) in 2004 and two new grid connections (and two
reconnections) in 2003. There were two nuclear power plant retirements in
2005, compared to five retirements in 2004 and six in 2003. The net increase in
global nuclear generating capacity during 2005 was 3259 MW(e).
Using the IAEA’s definition that construction begins with the first
pouring of concrete, there were three construction starts in 2005: Lingao-3 in
China (1000 MW(e)), Olkiluoto-3 in Finland (1600 MW(e)) and Chasnupp-2 in
Pakistan (300 MW(e)). In addition, active construction resumed at two plants
in Bulgaria, whose previous classification had been ‘construction suspended’.
In 2004 there were two construction starts plus the resumption of active
construction at two plants in the Russian Federation. There had been one
construction start in 2003.
Current expansion, as well as near-term and long-term growth prospects,
are centred in Asia. As shown in Table A-1, of 27 reactors under construction
worldwide at the end of 2005, 16 were in Asia. Twenty-four of the last
34 reactors to have been connected to the grid were in Asia.
Japan has the largest nuclear power programme in Asia. With the
connection of Higashi Dori-1 to the grid in March, and Shika-2 in July, Japan
now has 55 reactors in operation and one under construction. Also in July the
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) returned to service the last of the
17 reactors shut down in 2002. Altogether, Japan plans to add ten units to
the grid by 2014, increasing nuclear power’s share of Japanese electricity
to more than 40%.

1
The IAEA maintains data on operating and shutdown reactors, and those under
construction, as described in the latest IAEA Annual Report (http://www.iaea.org/
Publications/Reports/Anrep2005/) and at http://www.iaea.org/OurWork/ST/NE/NENP/
NPES/index.html. See, in particular, the Power Reactor Information System (PRIS)
(http://www.iaea.org/programmes/a2/index.html).

5
6
TABLE A-1. Nuclear Power Reactors in Operation and Under Construction in the World (as of 31 December 2005)a

Reactors in Reactors under Nuclear Electricity Total Operating

Operation Construction Supplied in 2004 Experience
Country
No. of Total No. of Total % of
TW·h Years Months
Units MW(e) Units MW(e) Total

Argentina 2 935 1 692 6.4 6.9 54 7

Armenia 1 376 2.5 42.7 38 3
Belgium 7 5 824 45.3 55.6 205 7
Brazil 2 1 901 9.9 2.4 29 3
Bulgaria 4 2 722 2 1 906 17.3 44.1 137 3
Canada 18 12 599 86.8 14.6 442 8
China 9 6 572 3 3 000 50.3 2.0 56 11
Czech Republic 6 3 368 23.3 30.5 86 10
Finland 4 2 676 1 1 600 22.3 32.9 107 4
France 59 63 363 430.9 78.5 1 464 2
Germany 17 20 339 154.6 31.0 683 5
Hungary 4 1 755 13.0 37.2 82 2
India 15 3 040 8 3 602 15.7 2.8 252 0
Iran, Islamic Republic of 1 915
Japan 55 47 593 1 866 280.7 29.3 1 221 3
Korea, Republic of 20 16 810 139.3 44.7 259 8
Lithuania 1 1 185 10.3 69.6 39 6
Mexico 2 1 310 10.8 5.0 27 11
Netherlands 1 449 3.8 3.9 61 0
 TABLE A-1. Nuclear Power Reactors in Operation and Under Construction in the World (as of 31 December 2005)a (cont.)

Reactors in Reactors under Nuclear Electricity Total Operating

Operation Construction Supplied in 2004 Experience
Country
No. of Total No. of Total % of
TW·h Years Months
Units MW(e) Units MW(e) Total

Pakistan 2 425 1 300 2.4 2.8 39 10

Romania 1 655 1 655 5.1 8.6 9 6
Russian Federation 31 21 743 4 3 775 137.3 15.8 870 4
Slovakia 6 2 442 16.3 56.1 112 6
Slovenia 1 656 5.6 42.4 24 3
South Africa 2 1 800 12.2 5.5 42 3
Spain 9 7 588 54.7 19.6 237 2
Sweden 10 8 910 69.5 44.9 332 6
Switzerland 5 3 220 22.1 32.1 153 10
Ukraine 15 13 107 2 1 900 83.3 48.5 308 6
United Kingdom 23 11 852 75.2 19.9 1 377 8
United States of America 103 98 145 780.5 19.3 3 087 6

Totalb 441 368 264 27 21 811 2625.9 16% 11 991 8

a
Data are from IAEA PRIS (http://www.iaea.org/programmes/a2/index.html)
b
The total includes the following data in Taiwan, China:
— 6 units, 4904 MW(e) in operation; 2 units, 2600 MW(e) under construction;
— 38.4 TW·h of nuclear electricity generation, representing 20.3% of the total electricity generated in 2005;
— 146 years, 1 month of total operating experience.

7
 With the connection of Ulchin-6 to the grid in January, the Republic of
Korea has 20 units in operation. Site preparations began in 2005 for Kori-5
and -6. Nuclear power provides 45% of the country’s electricity.
Elsewhere in Asia, nuclear power’s absolute and relative contributions
are smaller, but China and India in particular plan significant expansion. China,
with nine operating reactors, three under construction and 2% of its electricity
from nuclear power, plans expansion to 40 GW(e) by 2020 for 4% of the
electricity supply.
India connected Tarapur-4, a 490 MW(e) pressurized heavy water
reactor, to the grid in June. The country now has 15 reactors in operation and
eight more under construction. In 2004, nuclear power provided 2.8% of the
electricity supply. India’s goals are to increase nuclear capacity by a factor of
ten by 2022 and a factor of 90 by 2052.
Pakistan gets 2.8% of its electricity from two operating nuclear reactors.
In 2005, construction began on Chasnupp-2, a 300 MW(e) pressurized water
reactor. Plans call for an additional 8000 MW(e) of nuclear capacity by 2030,
thereby increasing nuclear power’s share of electricity to 4.2%.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, which is constructing a nuclear power plant,
signed fuel supply agreements in 2005 that provide for the return of spent fuel
to the Russian Federation.
Western Europe has 135 operating nuclear power plants and now one
under construction with the August 2005 construction start at Olkiluoto-3 in
Finland. In line with nuclear phase-out policies in Germany and Sweden, there
were two retirements, Obrigheim in Germany and Barsebäck-2 in Sweden.
Governments approved a lifetime extension of the Borssele nuclear power
plant to 2033, i.e. a 60 year lifetime, in the Netherlands and ten year lifetime
extensions to Dungeness-B1 and Dungeness-B2 in the UK. The Swedish
Government approved uprates of 15 MW(e) for Ringhals-1 and -3, and a
similar request for a 250 MW(e) uprate at Oskarshamn-3 has been supported
by regulators and is awaiting government approval. Additional uprate requests
were for 120 MW(e) at Forsmark-1, 120 MW(e) at Forsmark-2 and 170 MW(e)
at Forsmark-3.
The Russian Federation has 31 nuclear power plants in operation and four
under construction, and Eastern Europe has 39 operating plants and five under
construction. Bilibino-2 in the Russian Federation received a five year licence
extension at the beginning of 2005, complementing a similar extension granted
to Bilibino-1 the previous year. Both are small 11 MW(e) units providing district
heat and electricity in the remote northeastern Chukotka region.
In the United States of America, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) approved nine more licence renewals of 20 years each (for a total
licensed life of 60 years for each nuclear power plant), bringing the total

8
number of approved licence renewals at the end of 2005 to 39. New energy
legislation was enacted providing for government coverage of costs associated
with certain potential licensing delays and a production tax credit for up to
6000 MW(e) of advanced nuclear power capacity. The NRC is reviewing three
applications for early site permits, and it expects to receive four applications for
combined construction and operating licences by the end of 2007, with several
more possible in 2008.
In Canada, Pickering A-1 became the fourth unit to be reconnected to the
grid out of eight that have been shut in recent years. Agreement was also
reached on a four-year programme for the fifth and sixth restarts, at Bruce A-1
and Bruce A-2.

A.2. The Future

A.2.1. Rising Expectations2

The year 2005 has been one of rising expectations for nuclear power. In
March, high level representatives of 74 governments, including
25 representatives at the ministerial level, gathered in Paris at a conference
organized by the IAEA to consider the future role of nuclear power. The vast
majority of participants affirmed that nuclear power can make a major
contribution to meeting energy needs and sustaining the world’s development
in the 21st century, for a large number of both developed and developing
countries. Among them were a number of countries currently without nuclear
power programmes, such as Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco, Poland, Turkey and
Vietnam. Among the challenges facing countries starting up a nuclear power
programme is that of establishing the necessary supporting infrastructure
including the legal and regulatory infrastructure.3
Contributors to the rise in expectations are nuclear power’s good and
lengthening track record, the persistent growth in global energy needs, new
environmental constraints, concerns in some countries about energy supply
security, and specific nuclear power expansion plans in countries such as India,
China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation.

2
More detail on recent IAEA projections is available at http://nesisda2/rds-1/.
The IAEA’s recent and current work on data collection and expert assessment for
medium term projections is described in the latest IAEA Annual Report (http://
www.iaea.org/Publications/Reports/Anrep2005/) and at http://www.iaea.org/OurWork/
ST/NE/Pess/.
3
See Annex I.

9
 Nuclear power’s good and lengthening track record is reflected in the
11 991 reactor-years of experience shown in Table A-1, improved capacity
factors, lower generating costs and an excellent safety record. There has been
one accident with major off-site consequences — at Chernobyl in 1986. That
accident cost lives and caused widespread misery. But it also brought about
major changes including the founding of a ‘safety culture’ of constant
improvement, thorough analysis of experience and sharing of best practices.
This safety culture has been demonstrating its effectiveness for nearly two
decades, and this safety record provides the basis for countries considering
constructing nuclear power plants.
Persistently growing global energy needs in the century ahead are
projected in all independent analyses and forecasts. If the world is to meet even
a fraction of the economic aspirations of the developing world, energy supplies
must expand significantly. Oil and natural gas prices rose substantially in 2005,
reflecting market expectations that demand will grow faster than supply.
Figure A-1 shows the historical growth in worldwide nuclear generating
capacity since 1960 plus high and low projections by the IAEA as updated in
2005. The difference between the low and the high projections in 2030 is
222 GW(e). As shown in the figure, 66 GW(e) of this difference, or 30%, is
accounted for by Western Europe, and 52 GW(e), or 23%, by the Far East.

600

500
SEA
Africa
LA
400
ME&SA
GW(e)

NA
300 EE
Far East
WE
200 low proj.
history

100

0
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030

FIG. A-1. Installed nuclear power generating capacity worldwide. The dark green bars
show historical growth from 1960 through 2005. The light green bars show the IAEA’s
latest low projection for 2010, 2020 and 2030. The other colours show how much of the
difference between the IAEA’s low and high projections is attributable to different regions
of the world. (SEA: South-East Asia; LA: Latin America; ME&SA: Middle East and
South Asia; NA: North America; EE: Eastern Europe; WE: Western Europe.)

10
 62% support continued use
Nuclear is safe; build more plants 28% of existing plants

Use what’s there; don’t build new 34%

59% do not favour building
Nuclear dangerous; close down all plants 25% new plants

FIG. A-2. Aggregate results of a global public opinion poll. Source: Global Public
Opinion on Nuclear Issues and the IAEA: Final Report from 18 Countries, 2005.

Although expectations for nuclear power are rising, a recent global public
opinion survey commissioned by the IAEA shows a continuing diversity of
views. The survey polled 18 000 people in 18 countries. There was substantial
diversity across countries. Aggregated results are shown in Figure A-2. A
majority of 62% wished to keep current plants running at the same time that a
majority of 59% did not want new plants built. A follow-up question was also
asked that included brief information about nuclear power’s very low
greenhouse gas emissions, following which the percentage in favour of
expanding nuclear power rose from 28% to 38%, and the percentage opposing
expansion dropped from 59% to 47%.

A.2.2. Sustainable Development and Climate Change4

The UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) first took up

the topic of energy at its ninth session in 2001, and the relationship between
nuclear energy and sustainable development was debated thoroughly. The
outcome was twofold. First, parties agreed to disagree, with the final text
observing that some countries view nuclear energy as an important
contributor to sustainable development and others do not. Second, parties
agreed that “the choice of nuclear energy rests with countries.” Nuclear power
will next be part of the agenda when the CSD again takes up energy issues in
2006 and 2007.
The Kyoto Protocol entered into force in February 2005 and requires
most developed countries to limit their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the
‘first commitment period’, 2008–2012. Different countries have adopted
different policies to meet their Kyoto Protocol limits. Not all benefit nuclear
power despite its low GHG emissions, but in the longer run, the limits on GHG

4
More detailed information about IAEA activities on energy related aspects of
sustainable development and climate change is available in relevant sections of the
latest IAEA Annual Report (http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Reports/Anrep2005/) and
at http://www.iaea.org/OurWork/ST/NE/Pess/climate.shtml.

11
emissions should make nuclear power increasingly attractive. In the past its
advantage of very low GHG emissions has been invisible to investors, as the
lack of restrictions or taxes on such emissions meant there was no economic
value to their avoidance.
The 11th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Climate
Change (CoP-11) in Montreal in December 2005 was the first to take place
after entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol and thus also served as the first
Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (MoP-1). As such, it formally
adopted the rules for implementing the Kyoto Protocol that were preliminarily
adopted at CoP-7 as the “Marakkesh Accords”. With respect to emission
reductions after the first commitment period (2008–2012), it decided to start
discussions in an “open-ended ad hoc working group …which…shall aim to
complete its work…as early as possible and in time to ensure that there is no
gap between the first and second commitment periods”. In these discussions, an
important issue for nuclear power will be the fate of the current exclusion,
during the first commitment period, of nuclear power projects from two of the
three flexible mechanisms in the Kyoto Protocol, specifically the Clean
Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation.

A.2.3. Key Issues

Economics

Nuclear power plants have a ‘front-loaded’ cost structure, i.e. they are
relatively expensive to build but relatively inexpensive to operate. Thus
existing well-run operating nuclear power plants continue to be a generally
competitive profitable source of electricity, but for new construction, the
economic competitiveness of nuclear power depends on several factors. First it
depends on the alternatives available. Some countries are rich in alternative
energy resources, others less so. Second, it depends on the overall electricity
demand in a country and how fast it is growing. Third, it depends on the market
structure and investment environment. Other things being equal, nuclear
power’s front-loaded cost structure is less attractive to a private investor in a
liberalized market that values rapid returns, than to a government that can look
longer-term, particularly in a regulated market that assures attractive returns.
Private investments in liberalized markets will also depend on the extent to
which energy-related external costs and benefits (e.g. pollution, GHG
emissions, waste and energy supply security) have been internalized. In
contrast, government investors can incorporate such externalities directly into
their decisions. Also important are regulatory risks. Political support for
nuclear power varies across countries, and, within a given country, it can change

12
 solar PV 145

offshore wind

onshore wind

hydropower

oil

natural gas

coal

nuclear

0 5 10 15 20
euro cent / kWh

FIG. A-3. The ranges of levelized costs associated with new construction as estimated in
seven recent studies for electricity generating technologies in different countries (PV:
photovoltaic).

over time. An investor must weigh the risk of political shifts that might require
cancellation of the project midstream or introduce delays and costs that would
vitiate an originally attractive investment. Different countries also have
different approval processes. Some are less predictable than others and create
greater risks, from the investor’s perspective, of expensive interventions or
delays.
Figure A-3 summarizes estimates from seven recent studies of electricity
costs for new power plants with different fuels.5 Except for oil-fired electricity

5
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, The Future of Nuclear
Power, Cambridge, MA (2003); UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, The Economic Future
of Nuclear Power, Chicago, IL (2004); ROYAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING, The
Cost of Generating Electricity, London (2004); GENERAL DIRECTORATE FOR
ENERGY AND RAW MATERIALS (DGEMP), French Ministry of the Economy,
Finance and Industry, Paris (2003); MINISTRY OF ECONOMY, TRADE AND
INDUSTRY, Tokyo (2004); AYRES, M., MACRAE, M., STOGRAN, M., Levelised
Unit Electricity Cost Comparison of Alternate Technologies for Baseload Generation in
Ontario, CANADIAN ENERGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE, Calgary (2004); OECD
NUCLEAR ENERGY AGENCY and INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY,
Projected Costs of Generating Electricity: 2005 Update, OECD, Paris (2005).

13
generation (estimated in only one study) the high end of each cost range is at
least 100% higher than the low end. This is due partly to different technological
assumptions across the studies, but also to the factors listed above. Moreover,
the ranges in Fig. A-3 incorporate only internalized costs. If high enough
priority is given to improving national energy self-sufficiency, for example, the
preferred choice in a specific situation might not be the least expensive.

Safety6

The international exchange of nuclear power plant operating experiences

and, in particular, the broad dissemination of ‘lessons learned’ are essential
parts of maintaining and strengthening the safe operation of nuclear power
plants. Collecting, sharing and analysing operating experience are all vital
safety management elements, and there is clear empirical evidence that
learning from nuclear power plant operating experience has led, and continues
to lead, to improvements in plant safety. International mechanisms to facilitate
exchange include the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) and
the IAEA. Regular meetings of the IAEA–OECD/NEA Joint Incident
Reporting System are an additional part of this global exchange process, where
recent incidents can be discussed and analysed in detail.
Safety indicators, such as those published by WANO and reproduced in
Figs A-4 and A-5, improved dramatically in the 1990s. However, in some areas

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2003 2004
Units reporting 369 387 400 418 413 417 419 405 428

FIG. A-4. Unplanned scrams per 7000 hours critical. Source: WANO 2004 Performance
Indicators.

6
More detailed information on IAEA activities concerning nuclear safety is
available in relevant sections of the latest IAEA Annual Report (http://www.iaea.org/
Publications/Reports/Anrep2005/) and at http://www-ns.iaea.org/.

14
 6

0
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2003 2004
Units reporting 169 175 183 198 202 203 203 201 210

FIG. A-5. Industrial accidents at nuclear power plants per 1 000 000 person-hours
worked. Source: WANO 2004 Performance Indicators.

improvement has stalled in recent years, as in the case of unplanned scrams

shown in Fig. A-4. Also the gap between the best and worst performers is still
large, providing substantial room for continuing improvement. Since the 1986
accident at Chernobyl, enormous efforts have been made in upgrading reactor
safety features, but facilities still exist at which nuclear safety assistance should
be made a priority.
More detailed safety information and recent developments related to all
nuclear applications are presented in the IAEA’s annual Nuclear Safety
Review (GC(50)/INF/2).

Spent fuel, reprocessing, waste and decommissioning7

The world’s current 441 operating nuclear power plants generate over
10 000 tonnes of heavy metal (t HM) of spent fuel each year. Less than one
third is reprocessed for recycling as mixed oxide (MOX) fuel. The remainder is
placed into interim storage facilities. About 190 000 t HM are currently in
storage. Most are stored in water, but an increasing amount is in dry storage,
which has become the preferred method for new away-from-reactor interim
storage. Dry storage has the advantage of being modular, which spreads capital
investments over time, and, in the longer term, the simpler passive cooling

7
More detailed information on the IAEA’s activities on decommissioning, spent
fuel and waste is available in relevant sections of the latest IAEA Annual Report (http:/
/www.iaea.org/Publications/Reports/Anrep2005/), at http://www.iaea.org/OurWork/ST/
NE/NEFW/index.html and http://www-ns.iaea.org/home/rtws.asp. See also Annex II.

15
systems used in dry storage reduce operation and maintenance requirements
and costs.
Current global capacity for reprocessing civilian spent fuel is
approximately 5000 tonnes of heavy metal per year (t HM/a). A new facility
under construction at Rokkashomura, in Japan, will add 800 t HM/a. Uranium
commissioning at Rokkashomura began in 2004, active commissioning with
actual spent fuel is scheduled to begin in 2006, and commercial operation is
scheduled for 2007. Current global capacity for MOX fuel fabrication is
approximately 200 t HM/a and is expected to grow to around 350 t HM/a by
2010.
Current research to improve on the PUREX process used in all operating
commercial reprocessing plants (and Rokkashomura) covers advanced
PUREX processes, other aqueous processes and several non-aqueous
processes.
The most efficient way to use reprocessed fuel is in fast reactors. Fast
reactors have been built and operated in France, Germany, India, Japan, the
Russian Federation, the UK and the USA. However, early economic incentives
for reprocessing and recycling diminished after the 1970s, partly because of the
slowdown in nuclear capacity growth, partly because uranium resource
estimates continually rose and partly because of secondary sources. Only one
fast reactor, BN-600 in the Russian Federation, currently operates as a power
reactor, and it uses not reprocessed fuel, but fresh high enriched uranium
(HEU) fuel. India, however, began construction in 2004 of a 500 MW(e)
prototype fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam, and there is ongoing research in
a number of countries (see Section B.1).
Finland, Sweden and the USA are furthest along in developing final high
level waste repositories, although none is expected to be in operation much
before 2020. Finland and the USA have each chosen a single site, at which they
are conducting the necessary research. A licence application for the repository
at Yucca Mountain, USA, was scheduled for submittal to NRC in 2004, but has
been delayed. Sweden is conducting research at two possible sites.
In November 2005, following a three-year nation-wide consultative
process, Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization recommended an
‘adaptive phased’ approach to managing Canadian spent fuel. During the next
30 years spent fuel would continue to be stored at reactor sites, a suitable site
for a deep geological repository would be selected, and a decision would be
made whether to also construct a centralized interim shallow underground
storage facility to start receiving spent fuel in about 30 years. With or without a
centralized interim facility, the deep repository would begin accepting spent
fuel in about 60 years.

16
 In France, investigations at the underground research laboratory in Bure
on disposal in clay have made good progress. France’s 1991 nuclear waste
research and development act specifically requires further parliamentary
action after 15 years, and a formal public debate began in 2005 as preparation
for such action in 2006. The debate is based on research since 1991 on three
main approaches — partitioning and transmutation, geological disposal, and
conditioning and long term interim storage — and the new legislation is
expected to clarify near term and intermediate term steps to be taken to move
forward on all three.
Regarding disposal of low and intermediate level radioactive waste,
noteworthy developments took place in 2005 in Belgium, Hungary and the
Republic of Korea. In Belgium, at least two communities voted to become
candidate sites for a national low level waste (LLW) repository. In Hungary,
residents of Bataapati voted overwhelmingly to host the country’s final
repository for LLW and intermediate level waste (ILW). And in the Republic
of Korea, Gyeongju was designated as the site for the first LLW and ILW
repository, conditional on a successful geological site assessment, after almost
90% of Gyeongju’s voters approved, compared with 67 to 84% in three other
candidate communities.
In 2005, decommissioning of the Trojan and Maine Yankee nuclear power
plants in the USA was completed. Except for their separate spent fuel storage
facilities, both sites were released for unrestricted public use. Thus, by the end
of 2005, eight power plants around the world had been completely
decommissioned, with their sites released for unconditional use. Seventeen
plants have been partially dismantled and safely enclosed, 31 are being
dismantled prior to eventual site release, and 30 are undergoing minimum
dismantling prior to long term enclosure.

Proliferation resistance8

Non-proliferation concerns have increased in the past few years.

Proliferation resistance is a characteristic of a nuclear energy system that
impedes the diversion or undeclared production of nuclear material or misuse
of technology. As part of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) and
the IAEA’s International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel
Cycles (INPRO), increased attention is being paid to the issue of intrinsic

8
More detailed information on IAEA activities concerning proliferation resist-
ance and safeguards is available in relevant sections of the latest IAEA Annual Report
(http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Reports/Anrep2005/) and at http://www.iaea.org/
OurWork/SV/Safeguards/index.html.

17
proliferation resistance features, i.e. those features that result from the
technical design of nuclear energy systems. These are summarized in Section
B.1 on advanced fission.
In January 2006, Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined a proposal to
create a system of international centres providing nuclear fuel cycle services,
including enrichment, on a non-discriminatory basis and under the control of
the IAEA. In February 2006, the USA announced a Global Nuclear Energy
Partnership to develop advanced recycling technologies that would not
separate plutonium; international collaboration in supplying fuel for States
who agree not to pursue enrichment and reprocessing; advanced reactors to
consume recycled spent fuel while providing energy; and safe and secure small
reactors well suited to the needs of developing countries.

A.2.4. Resources9

Identified conventional uranium resources are currently estimated at

3.8 million tonnes (Mt U) for resources recoverable at costs below $80/kg and
at 4.7 Mt U for costs below $130/kg. For reference, the spot market price of
uranium at the end of May 2006 was $112/kg. For both categories these
estimates have increased in the last two years due both to new discoveries and
to the reallocation of some resources from higher cost categories to lower cost
categories.
Undiscovered conventional resources add another estimated 7.1 Mt U at
costs less than $130/kg. This includes both resources that are expected to occur
either in or near known deposits, and more speculative resources that are
thought to exist in geologically favourable, yet unexplored areas. There are also
an estimated further 3.0 Mt U of speculative resources for which production
costs have not been specified.
Unconventional uranium resources and thorium further expand the
resource base. Unconventional uranium resources include about 22 Mt U that
occur in phosphate deposits and up to 4000 Mt U contained in sea water. The
technology to recover uranium from phosphates is mature, with estimated costs
of $60–100/kg U. The technology to extract uranium from sea water has only

9
This section is based on the OECD/NEA–IAEA ‘Red Book’ (OECD
NUCLEAR ENERGY AGENCY–INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY
AGENCY, Uranium 2005: Resources, Production and Demand, Publication No. 6098,
OECD, Paris (2006)). More detailed information on IAEA activities concerning nuclear
resources is available in relevant sections of the latest IAEA Annual Report (http://
www.iaea.org/Publications/Reports/Anrep2005/), at http://www.iaea.org/OurWork/ST/
NE/NEFW/nfcms_home.html, and in Annex III.

18
been demonstrated at the laboratory scale, and extraction costs are currently
estimated at $300/kg U. Thorium is three times as abundant in the Earth’s crust
as uranium. Although existing estimates of thorium reserves plus additional
resources total more than 4.5 Mt, such estimates are considered still
conservative. They do not cover all regions of the world, and the historically
weak market demand has limited thorium exploration.
Figure A-6 compares the geographical distribution of identified
conventional uranium resources with the distribution of uranium production in
2004. Three countries — Australia, Canada and Kazakhstan — account for
50% of the identified conventional resources and for 60% of production.
Uranium production in 2004 totalled 40 263 t U, only about 60% of the
world’s reactor requirements (67 320 t U). The remainder was covered by five
secondary sources: stockpiles of natural uranium, stockpiles of enriched
uranium, reprocessed uranium from spent fuel, MOX fuel with 235U partially
replaced by 239Pu from reprocessed spent fuel and re-enrichment of depleted
uranium tails (depleted uranium contains less than 0.7% 235U).
Of these five secondary sources, the largest contributions come from
stockpiles built up from the beginning of commercial exploitation of nuclear
power in the late-1950s through to about 1990. Throughout this period uranium
production consistently exceeded commercial requirements due mainly to
slower than expected growth in nuclear electricity generation plus high
production for military purposes. Since 1990, the situation has been reversed,
and stockpiles have been drawn down. However, precise information is not
readily available, and possible future political decisions on releasing military
material for commercial purposes add an additional element of uncertainty.

Australia
Kazakhstan
Canada
USA
S. Africa
Namibia
Brazil
Niger
Russia
Uzbekistan
Ukraine
Other

FIG. A-6. Geographical distribution of identified conventional uranium resources (left)

and of uranium production in 2004 (right).

19
TABLE A-2. Years of Resource Availability for Various Nuclear Technologies

Years of 2004 world

nuclear electricity
Years of 2004 world nuclear
generation with
Reactor/Fuel cycle electricity generation with
identified
total conventional resources
conventional
resources

Current fuel cycle 85 270

(LWR, once-through)
Pure fast reactor fuel cycle 5000–6000 16 000–19 000
with recycling

Recycling of spent fuel as MOX fuel has not significantly altered uranium
requirements, given the relatively small number of reactors using MOX and the
limited number of recycles possible using current reprocessing and reactor
technology. Uranium recovered through reprocessing of spent fuel, known as
reprocessed uranium, is currently recycled only in France and the Russian
Federation. Available data indicate that it represents less than 1% of world
requirements.
Depleted uranium stocks are substantial, estimated at about 1.5 Mt U at
the beginning of 2005. Re-enrichment, however, is currently only economical in
centrifuge enrichment plants that have spare capacity and low operating costs.
Complete data are unavailable, but European Union (EU) statistics show that
deliveries of re-enriched tails from the Russian Federation were 6% of the total
uranium delivered to EU reactors in 2004.
Uranium prices generally declined from the early-1980s until 1994 due to
over-production and the availability of secondary sources, and between 1990
and 1994 low prices led to significant reductions in many sectors of the world
uranium industry. Beginning in 2001, however, the price of uranium has
rebounded to levels not seen since the 1980s, with the spot price increasing
more than six-fold from 2001 to 2006.
Table A-2 summarizes the potential longevity of the world’s conventional
uranium resources. For both the current LWR once-through fuel cycle and a
pure fast reactor fuel cycle, the table estimates how long conventional uranium
resources would last, assuming electricity generation from nuclear power stays
at its 2004 level.

20
 B. ADVANCED FISSION AND FUSION10

B.1. Advanced Fission

In the near term most new nuclear plants will likely be evolutionary
improvements on existing designs. In the longer term, more innovative designs
that incorporate radical changes and promise significantly shorter construction
times and lower capital costs could help to promote a new era of nuclear power.
Several innovative designs are in the small (< 300 MW(e)) to medium (300–
700 MW(e)) size range. Such designs could be attractive for the introduction of
nuclear power in developing countries and for remote locations.
Advanced designs seek improvements in three principal areas: cost
reductions, safety enhancements and proliferation resistance.
For cost reductions, some designs emphasize further developing proven
strategies, i.e. economies of scale through larger units; shorter construction
schedules through modular systems and addressing licensing issues early;
standardization and construction in series; multiple unit construction; and
enhancing local participation, while other designs emphasize new cost
reduction strategies including economies of series production; sharpening the
accuracy of codes and databases to eliminate over-design; developing ‘smart’
components to detect incipient failures and reduce dependence on costly
redundancy and diversity; passive safety systems; further development of
probabilistic safety analysis to support plant simplification and risk-informed
regulatory decision making; fewer components requiring nuclear grade
standards; and higher thermal efficiencies.
With respect to safety, work on technical improvements includes larger
water inventories (in the case of water cooled reactors), lower power densities,
larger negative reactivity coefficients, redundant and diverse safety systems
with proven high reliability, and passive cooling and condensing systems.
With respect to proliferation resistance, intrinsic measures incorporated
into various advanced designs concern the chemical form of nuclear material;
its mass and bulk, radiation field, heat generation and spontaneous neutron
generation rate; the complexity of modifications necessary to use a civilian

10
More detailed information on IAEA activities on advanced fission and nuclear
fusion is available in relevant sections of the latest IAEA Annual Report (http://
www.iaea.org/Publications/Reports/Anrep2005/) and at http://www.iaea.org/OurWork/
ST/NE/NENP/NPTDS.html. A status report, prepared by the International Fusion
Research Council and summarizing progress in fusion research over the past decade,
was published in Nuclear Fusion (45 (2005) A1–A28).

21
facility and material for weapons production; and design features that limit
access to nuclear material.
Important design efforts on large advanced LWRs (ALWRs) are under
way in Argentina, China, the European Union, France, Germany, Japan, the
Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the USA. Both Canada and
India are working on advanced HWR designs, and advanced gas cooled reactor
designs are being developed in China, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea,
the Russian Federation, South Africa and the USA. The design and safety
review of a demonstration unit of the 165 MW(e) pebble bed modular high-
temperature reactor in South Africa has been completed and a licensing review
is under way. For liquid metal cooled fast reactors, development activities are
under way in China, France, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the
Russian Federation.
Complementing the initiatives above are two major international efforts
to promote innovation — the Generation IV International Forum (GIF) and
the IAEA’s International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel
Cycles (INPRO). GIF has reviewed a wide range of innovative concepts and, in
2002, selected six types of reactor systems for future bilateral and multilateral
cooperation: gas cooled fast reactors, lead alloy liquid metal cooled reactors,
molten salt reactors, sodium liquid metal cooled reactors, supercritical water
cooled reactors and very high temperature gas reactors. A Framework
Agreement on International Collaboration in Research and Development on
Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems was signed by Canada, France, Japan,
UK and USA in February 2005. The agreement clarifies explicit ground rules
for joint research and other cooperative activities and provides the foundation
on which specific GIF projects can now be negotiated.
In 2004, INPRO published revised guidelines and a methodology for
evaluating innovative nuclear energy systems (INSs). Current activities include
completion of a user manual on the INPRO methodology to assist users in
assessing INSs; application of the methodology to assessing INSs in national
and multinational studies; analyses of the role and structure of INSs to meet
national, regional and global energy demands in a sustainable manner; and
selection of the most suitable areas for collaborative development. In 2005,
INPRO grew to 24 members, with the addition of Ukraine and the United
States of America.

B.2. Fusion

In June 2005, a joint declaration of all parties to the International

Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) negotiations was signed, and
agreement reached on the construction site at Cadarache, France. This decision

22
signalled an important new stage in the development of fusion energy — the
scientific and engineering demonstration of fusion technology in conditions
relevant to operating a fusion reactor for power production. In December 2005,
India became the seventh member of ITER.
Harnessing nuclear fusion energy presents many challenges, including the
increased need for access to reliable, comprehensive atomic and molecular
data. With the approaching construction of ITER, many atomic, molecular and
plasma–surface interaction issues have taken on increased importance. Several
significant issues have been identified by the International Fusion Research
Council (IFRC), such as tritium inventory and removal, edge plasma physics,
and heavy element impurities. An initiative will be launched in 2006 to study
and quantify the erosion properties of fusion reactor containment wall
materials that will have a direct influence on the understanding of tritium
absorption by wall components.
An improved understanding of the physics of confined plasmas is leading
to improved parameters for optimized operation of fusion power plants.
Alternative magnetic confinement schemes such as spherical tokamaks and
stellarators (devices used to confine hot plasma with magnetic fields to sustain
a controlled nuclear fusion reaction) have also made significant progress in
terms of achieved operational parameters. Wendelstein-7X, the world’s largest
stellarator under construction in Germany and planned to go into operation by
2010, will boost research on the topic of steady state operation for fusion power
plants.
Progress in understanding the physics in inertial fusion research has led to
the design and fabrication of two megajoule laser facilities for fusion ignition
experiments; the National Ignition Facility of the USA is being built at
Livermore, and the Laser Megajoule facility near Bordeaux in France. They are
expected to be ready for experiments in 2008–2010. A new approach to inertial
fusion, called the fast ignition approach, is also under development, requiring
the use of an ultra-intense laser. The development of sub-pico-second ultra-
intense lasers is already at an advanced stage in the Fast Ignition Realization
Experiment programme in Osaka, Japan.

C. ATOMIC AND NUCLEAR DATA

A wide and comprehensive range of atomic and nuclear data is an

essential pre-requisite for basic nuclear physics research and the successful
planning, design and operation of nuclear power plants and associated

23
reprocessing and waste handling facilities, as well as for applications such as
nuclear medicine and specific nuclear-based analytical techniques. Increasing
interest in the use of accelerator driven systems (ADSs) will lead to greater
demand for reliable nuclear data of high quality for both reactor physics/
engineering purposes and radiation transport computations.
More reliable data have been generated to ensure improved confidence
in fission and fusion assessments, including such important parameters as the
thermal neutron cross-section of uranium-238, thermal scattering law data,
updated cross-sections for neutronics calculations of fusion devices and ADSs,
and other important atomic and nuclear parameters. Other advances in the
compilation and evaluation of atomic and nuclear data continue, for example,
to produce atomic and molecular data for plasma modelling and for heavy
element impurities in fusion reactors.

D. ACCELERATOR AND RESEARCH REACTOR

APPLICATIONS

D.1. Accelerators

The utilization of charged particle accelerators, in particular proton

accelerators and electron accelerators, continues to provide significant
developments in the fields of advanced materials, health care, and physical and
life sciences. Notable trends are the emergence of new applications such as the
use of focused ion beams, e.g. for micromachining, in nanotechnology and in
cell irradiation techniques.
Interest is developing in non-standard material behaviour in the field of
ion beam applications. For example, research is leading to improved knowledge
concerning the relationship between the structure and properties of the next
generation of insulating materials.
Two new pulsed spallation sources (one of the processes by which a
particle accelerator may be used to produce a beam of neutrons) are under
construction in Japan and the USA. Existing spallation sources, e.g. ISIS in the
UK and SINQ in Switzerland, are being upgraded and new applications in
physics, semiconductor physics, magnetism, and biology are emerging.

D.2. Research Reactors

Radioisotope production, neutron beam applications, silicon doping and

material irradiation continue to be the main applications in many research

24
reactor facilities. New research reactors are under construction, such as the
OPAL Reactor in Australia, the China Advanced Research Reactor (CARR)
in China and TRIGA-II in Morocco, or have been commissioned recently, such
as FRM-II in Germany and the Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) in
Nigeria. In Belgium, development of a new accelerator driven irradiation
facility, MYRRHA, is at an advanced stage. MYRRHA is intended to serve as
a European multipurpose research facility.
The FRM-II in Germany is designed for neutron beam utilization and has
features that include a secondary neutron source, and accessories such as
neutron guides for special experiments. These features are useful in studies of
soft matter polymers, biological species and liquids and disordered materials.
The MNSR research reactor in Nigeria, on the other hand, will be used
extensively for activation analysis for applications in areas such as
environment, food and agriculture.
Multipurpose research reactors, such as the OPAL reactor in Australia
and CARR in China, are expected to become operational in 2006 with
radioisotope production, silicon doping and neutron beam applications11 as
major activities.
The Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR)
Programme seeks to convert research reactors using HEU fuel to LEU fuel.
Continuing support for the development and qualification of high density LEU
fuels and for fostering fission molybdenum-99 production using LEU targets
are other activities under the RERTR Programme.
There are concerns about the future reliability of radioisotope
availability, if due attention is not paid now to meet future research reactor
irradiation needs. There are only four major industrial producers of
molybdenum-99, but many more research reactors are used for irradiating
HEU/LEU targets. There is no discernible trend for the industrial companies
considering a switch to use of LEU targets, and RERTR Programme
participants have focused additional attention on this issue. The successful
demonstration by the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA), in
Argentina, of medium scale regular production of molybdenum-99 using
locally produced LEU targets, is a notable advance in this regard.

11
See Annex IV.

25
 E. RADIOISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
AND RADIATION TECHNOLOGY

E.1. Radioisotope Applications

More than 150 different radioisotopes in various forms are in use for
diverse applications in many sectors of economic significance, including
medicine, food processing, industry, agriculture, structural safety and research.
The potential for expanding radioisotope applications and spreading the
benefits to developing countries continues to be high. Radioisotopes are
produced in at least 25 countries, while more than 30 additional countries are
likely producers of isotopes as reported in an IAEA–OECD survey12. The
medical field accounts for the majority of isotope applications, followed by
industry and research.
Radionuclide generator systems continue to play a key role in providing
both diagnostic and therapeutic radioisotopes for various applications in
nuclear medicine, oncology and interventional cardiology. The use of
yttrium-90 for radionuclide therapy is favoured because the parent
radionuclide, strontium-90, is available in large quantities from spent fuel
reprocessing. The recovery of strontium-90 followed by large-scale centralized
separation of yttrium-90 or production of radionuclide generators could
become a major radiochemical process in countries possessing fuel
reprocessing facilities.
Interest in establishing medical cyclotrons for radioisotope production is
growing in many developing countries. Production of radioisotopes of iodine
by using an enriched tellurium target is being explored as an economical mode
of production.

E.2. Radiation Technology

E.2.1. Nanotechnology for Industry and Health

Radiation curable polymeric nano-composites with enhanced surface-

mechanical properties have been developed in Germany. Transparent, scratch
and abrasion resistant coatings have been produced by radiation curing of

12
INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY–OECD NUCLEAR
ENERGY AGENCY, Beneficial Uses and Production of Isotopes, Publication
No. 5293, OECD, Paris (2005).

26
acrylate formulations containing high amount of nano-sized modified silica and
alumina fillers.
Macroscopic polymer gels are now well-established biomaterials typically
used as soft contact lenses, hydrogel wound dressings and devices for
controlled drug delivery. There is a growing interest in synthesis, properties and
applications of microscopic polymer gels, i.e. microgels and nanogels. Nanogels
are submicrometre size cross-linked polymer structures of sizes similar to a
single polymer molecule in solution. Such gels have potential applications as
drug and gene carriers, polymeric drugs, biomarkers, also as substrates for
separation and adsorption of bio-molecules. Nanogels are mostly obtained by
emulsion polymerization. Intra-molecular cross-linking of single polymer coils
by short pulse electron irradiation of dilute solutions has been proposed by a
group in Poland and has the advantages of absence of monomers, cross-linking
agents and other potentially toxic compounds, which are needed in
conventional processes.
Electron beam lithography for direct writing technology has been in
extensive use for the fabrication of nano-scale integrated circuit devices. An
electron beam lithographic tool was used by university researchers in Glasgow,
UK, to fabricate features as small as 20 nm diameter on 100 nm pitch which
provide arrays of nano-dots for use in cellular engineering.

E.2.2. Industrial Process Monitoring

Radiotracer and sealed source techniques continue to be widely used in

various industries to achieve better control of production processes, to improve
process efficiency, to enhance product quality and quantity and to verify the
information obtained by other methods.
Industrial process tomography can provide detailed information on the
density distribution of designated cross-sections of a chemical reactor. Gamma
transmission tomography is currently used by developers and manufacturers of
chemical process systems to measure the spatial density distribution inside
processing vessels or pipelines. However, development of a standard industrial
tomographic scanner for in-situ applications is complex, because of the variety
of locations, environments and differing designs of industrial process columns.
The development of portable/transportable tomographic imaging systems
using radioisotope sources will in future be significant as an indispensable
diagnostic tool for industrial processes and systems.
The single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) technique,
which is largely used in nuclear medicine, is soon likely to be used for diagnosis
of industrial reactors. The information obtained from SPECT will be more
reliable and specific than that from other methods. Gamma emission

27
FIG. E-1. A tomography system with 36 collimated detectors is installed around the
column. The liquid phase, labelled with 1.9 GBq of technetium-99m, is injected, and the
result shows some water channelling on the wall of the column.

tomography is an emerging method in investigating flow dynamics in industrial

reactors. For example, liquid flow distribution in trickle bed reactors was
investigated using this technique. Figure E-1 shows an example of an
investigation of the radial distribution of liquid flow in an industrial column,
such as is found in a refinery.

F. NUCLEAR TECHNIQUES
IN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

F.1. Crop Improvement and Protection

Nuclear techniques provide useful tools for plant breeders and play a
significant role in crop improvement. Applications of nuclear techniques in this
area include mutation induction for increasing germplasm variability using
gamma rays, X rays and fast neutrons; labelling of nucleic acids used as probes
for genetic fingerprinting, mapping and marker assisted selection; and
mutagenesis for the analyses of gene function.
Induced mutations created by gamma rays, X rays, fast neutrons or
chemicals have led to major successes in plant breeding. Beneficial mutants
have been selected and used by plant breeders for over 50 years. To date, nearly
2500 officially registered mutant varieties of more than 160 plant species
worldwide are listed in the FAO/IAEA Mutant Variety Database. For example,
a mutant rice cultivar (VND95-20) with high quality and tolerance to salinity
has been released in Vietnam and is one of the five top export rice varieties,
occupying 28% of the one million hectare export rice area in the Mekong

28
Delta. The salt tolerant rice cultivar target area for Bangladesh, India,
Philippines and Vietnam alone is estimated at 4.3 million hectares.
Deciphering gene function is now a major objective in genetics. The large
amounts of readily available DNA sequence information and induced mutants
are becoming key elements in genetic studies as they provide the resources for
the systematic discovery and functional analysis of genes. Targeting induced
local lesions in genomes (TILLING) is one example of a technique where
mutants for targeted genes can be rapidly identified. This technique is now
being applied to rice, wheat and barley and shows significant potential as a
method for dissecting the genes that control or influence the valuable traits in
diverse crops.
The use and transboundary shipment of sterile insects has so far been
excluded from the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 3
(ISPM 3), Code of Conduct for the Import and Release of Exotic Biological
Control Agents, of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)
because biological control agents were defined as self-replicating organisms. In
April 2005, a revised version of ISPM 3 entitled Guidelines for the Export,
Shipment, Import, and Release of Biological Control Agents and Other
Beneficial Organisms was approved that explicitly includes sterile insects as
beneficial. In addition, the terms “sterile insect” and “sterile insect technique”
(SIT)13 were included in the IPPC Glossary of Phytosanitary Terms. This will
facilitate the application of SIT in Member States and shows that the use of
sterile insects as part of the integrated management of plant pests is now
internationally recognized under the World Trade Organization’s Agreement
on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.

F.2. Animal Production and Health

Molecular and nuclear related diagnostics are of particular interest in

animal health because they can increase the sensitivity and specificity of
methods to detect animal diseases to a previously unachievable level.
Notwithstanding the increasing use of non-radioactive methods, a need
remains to use radioisotopes for the identification and characterization of
proteins, DNA and ribonucleic acid (RNA) because of the achievable high
levels of sensitivity. Developments in micro-fabrication, micro-fluidics and
nanotechnology offer possibilities for the production of more sensitive, rapid
and robust devices that perform under diverse conditions. So-called ‘lab-on-a-
chip’ devices offer the ability to integrate complex laboratory diagnoses

13
See Annex V.

29
(sample processing, target amplification and detection, and detection
differentiation) in a single miniaturized device. An important goal in the
current development of diagnostic devices is to make them usable in the field,
thereby shortening reaction time for implementation of preventative or control
measures. In addition to the more classical nuclear technologies, nuclear-based
gene expression methods are providing a deeper understanding of nutritional,
reproductive and disease elements that lead to simple-to-use manipulations for
enhancing livestock productivity.
Historically, radioimmunoassay (RIA), which employs radioisotopes in
the measurement of the concentration of a given molecule in a biological
sample, has been the dominant technology in the field of animal reproduction
and breeding. Radioisotopes also serve as the basis for a number of
technologies that deal with the labelling of nucleotides. By incorporating
radioisotopes (such as phosphorus-32, phosphorus-33, or sulphur-35) into short
DNA synthetic probes, researchers have a way to identify DNA polymorphism
(which permits the identification of genes influencing traits of interest) and
confirm parentage and/or measure the quantity of DNA or RNA in a given
biological sample. Subsequent testing can determine which animals carry the
superior forms of genes of interest and this information can be used to improve
accuracy of selection and, in turn, increase productivity. In addition,
identification and tracing of DNA polymorphisms can contribute to the genetic
characterization of desired breeds and emphasize genetic conservation. Novel
technologies such as dual energy X ray absorptiometry, magnetic resonance
spectroscopy and computer tomography may provide methods to determine
body composition, carcass quality and muscularity without the need to
slaughter animals.
Recent developments in improving the specificity of radioimmunoassays
for leptin (a protein hormone that plays a key role in metabolism and
regulation of adipose tissue) and insulin-like growth factors and extended
knowledge of their mechanisms of action indicate possibilities for their use
(alone or in combination with oxygen-18 and hydrogen-2 labelled water) and
also for the use of carbon-13 or carbon-14 carbon dioxide entry rate techniques
to assess the nutritional, reproductive and energy status of animals. Non-
invasive nuclear techniques such as proton induced X ray emission, proton
induced gamma ray emission, thermal ionization mass spectrometry, induced
coupled plasma mass spectrometry and X ray fluorescence spectroscopy for
elemental analysis increasingly find nutritional and toxicological applications
in livestock studies.

30
F.3. Food Quality and Safety

Food control systems need to take account of the entire food production
chain to ensure the quality, safety and wholesomeness of plant and animal
products intended for human consumption, aspects also of importance to
transboundary trade. More governments are now implementing this concept, in
part as a result of increasing consumer concerns about food safety. Nuclear and
related techniques assist governments in implementing a food chain approach
by developing methodologies, indicators and guidelines that protect food
chains from safety hazards at their source through good agricultural practices,
including a coordinated approach in the application of best water management
practices. These activities include the improvement of laboratory quality
management and analytical techniques to meet international standards for
pesticides, mycotoxins and veterinary drug residues. They include the adoption
of the collaboratively developed Codex Guidelines on the Use of Mass
Spectrometry (MS) for Identification, Confirmation and Quantitative
Determination of Residues, from the 28th session of the FAO/WHO Codex
Alimentarius Commission.
The success of the application of previously adopted international
standards related to the use of ionizing radiation, now used by over 50
countries worldwide, for the control of food-borne pathogens and insect pests
is reflected in part by the recent enactment of harmonized regulations in five
more countries for various types of food.
Other activities related to the application of international standards for
consumer protection and the facilitation of agricultural trade include an online
database14 of government first actions in response to a nuclear emergency
affecting agriculture. International trade from affected regions will also be
enhanced through collaborative efforts in the revision and expansion to cover
additional isotopes of the Codex Guideline Levels for Radionuclides in Foods
Following Accidental Nuclear Contamination for Use in International Trade,
and for a period greater than one year following a nuclear accident or
radiological event.

14
The database may be accessed at http://www.iaea.org/programmes/nafa/dx/
emergency/index.html.

31
 G. HUMAN HEALTH

G.1. Nutritional and Health-related Environmental Studies

Stable isotope techniques have in the past been used as nutritional

research tools but are now also used for developing and evaluating nutrition
programmes. The techniques can be applied in the most vulnerable population
groups, i.e. infants and children, because only stable (non radioactive) isotopes
are used. The sensitivity and specificity of measurements, as compared to
conventional techniques, are increased by use of stable isotopes. For example, a
better understanding can be achieved of the efficacy of nutrition interventions
based on changes in body composition (muscle mass) measured by stable
isotope techniques. Such techniques can address the need to evaluate locally
appropriate, sustainable food based strategies on nutritional status in people
living with HIV/AIDS and emphasize the importance of integrating nutrition
into a comprehensive response to HIV/AIDS, as recently highlighted by the
World Health Organization.

G.2. Nuclear Medicine in Imaging and Therapy15

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is now a dominant topic of

most medical imaging meetings, and there has been a remarkable increase in
PET publications (see Fig. G-1). This technique, using ultra-short-lived
radioisotopes attached to biological markers, allows nuclear medicine
physicians to track organ function at the molecular level. In particular, with the
use of radiolabelled glucose referred to as FDG (fluoro-18 deoxyglucose) or
C11-choline, organs can be explored with respect to glucose and amino acid
metabolism. PET images fused with X ray computed tomography (CT) images
provide intricate detail and true quantitative health changes in individual
patients, thus leading to changes in the way in which disease is managed.
Within the past few decades, advances in computer speed have fostered a
revolution in medical imaging technology. Within the next decade it is expected
that most modern radiology departments will acquire flat panel imagers,
thereby becoming ‘filmless’ and completing the transition to digital technology.
The abandonment of chemical processing of film is cost-effective, leading to
substantial improvements in image quality and reliability, and has the potential
to lead to an overall reduction in exposure to patients from diagnostic X rays.
These advances, coupled to the inherently digital nature of computed

15
See Annex VI.

32
FIG. G-1. The development of scientific publications on PET in biomedical scientific
journals (source: Medline) over the last 15 years, reflecting the impact that the technique
has on imaging of cancer and other diseases.

tomography systems provides the basis for an electronic medical recording

system that could contain the entire medical file of individual patients,
including all their life-long imaging studies.
A major development in the application of nuclear medicine therapeutics
is the routine use of radiolabelled anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies for
lymphoma and radiolabelled peptides especially for neuro-endocrine tumours.
This finally brings in a new era in targeted therapeutics, which has significantly
fewer side effects compared with conventional chemotherapy. A wide variety
of radiopharmaceuticals is also available to the nuclear medicine community
for providing effective palliation. These are especially useful for metastatic
conditions where radiotherapy is not possible, thus providing cost effective
improvement in quality of life. Radiolabelled therapeutic antibodies are
leading to significant improvements in patient care and, when combined with
chemotherapeutic agents, an increase in the overall survival rates.

G.3. Dosimetry and Medical Radiation Physics

The leading edge in cancer treatment technology now is called ‘dose

painting’ and it is driven by advances in functional imaging. With the advent of
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), it became possible to perform
spectroscopic studies or acquire functional MRI images that revealed areas of
the tumour with different levels of activity. However, over the past few years

33
PET has become the principal driver of functional imaging. It is now possible to
locate areas within tumours that may require higher levels of radiation dose,
for example, because the cells appear to be deficient in oxygen, and therefore
resistant to radiation, or because the local blood supply is undergoing rapid
expansion, perhaps revealing an aggressive disease site. This ability will almost
certainly lead to a dose, modified and delivered to different functional parts of
the tumour. Dose painting may be altered from one therapy session to the next
by using functional imaging studies to periodically monitor the tumour
response.

G.4. Radiopharmaceuticals

Technetium-99m remains the most widely used radioisotope in diagnostic

nuclear medicine worldwide, with over 40 000 procedures performed every day.
Use of radiopharmaceuticals in diagnostic nuclear medicine is continuing to
grow at a rate of 10–15% annually.
The use of therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals is increasing and many new
radiopharmaceuticals using particle-emitting radionuclides are under
development. Several yttrium-90 based radiopharmaceuticals for cancer
therapy and treatment of arthritis are now in the clinical trial stage and their
widespread future application is envisaged. Lutetium-177, an ideal therapeutic
radionuclide with a long enough half life for easy preparation and shipping of
the finished product, is gaining attention.

G.5. Radiation Oncology

The major advance in the field of radiotherapy in recent years has been
the discovery through several high quality clinical trials that the addition of
pharmaceutical agents to radiotherapy improves the survival of patients with
many common cancers such as lung, cervical, breast, head and neck, stomach,
rectum, brain and prostate. However, in some cases this comes at the price of
greater toxicity. Research continues in an attempt to modify the pharmaceutical
agents and their target molecules in ways that will preserve their radio-
sensitizing effect on the cancerous tissues, while decreasing the toxicity to the
healthy tissues. Research is also being carried out into monitoring the delayed
toxicity of chemical modifiers on the effects of radiation, as well as identifying
target molecules that help cancer cells escape death after irradiation, and targets
that are responsible for radiation injury in healthy tissues.
The last two decades have witnessed a continuing development in
brachytherapy, which consists of placing sealed radioactive sources very close
to or in contact with the target tissue. With this modality, high radiation doses

34
can be delivered safely to a localized target volume over a short time. Newer
high dose rate (HDR) sources, remote control technology, surgical techniques
and treatment planning software have contributed to a rapid development of
this effective treatment modality. In particular, the recent development of
HDR cobalt-60 sources may allow modern HDR brachytherapy to be
performed with replacement of the sources needed less frequently than with
other sources.

H. WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT

H.1. Water Resources

H.1.1. Isotope Hydrology Techniques

Groundwater management is a key issue for sustainable human

development, especially in semi-arid and arid regions. The increasing demand
for water and the limited availability (and in many cases, quality) of surface
water resources has led to the rapid development of groundwater for water
supply, irrigation and industrial uses. For rational planning, an adequate
understanding of the aquifer properties (origin of groundwater, recharge and
renewal rates, vulnerability to pollution and interconnections between water
bodies) is a pre-requisite to establishing sound development strategies.
The IAEA has embarked on an effort to compile and disseminate isotope
data from aquifers and rivers worldwide. These data are also being used to
build thematic maps of fossil water aimed at assisting decision makers in
adopting better practices for groundwater management.
The development of a dual inlet, gas source mass spectrometer in the
1950s heralded an explosive growth in the use of isotopes in hydrology and
geology. New technological developments for isotope analysis of hydrological
samples hold a great promise for revolutionizing the use of isotopes in water
resources management. A portable instrument based on a laser technique has
become available for use on the bench-top or in the field. This relatively
inexpensive, low skill and low cost instrument, compared to the dual inlet mass
spectrometer, may be operated at a minimal operational cost by researchers
and practitioners alike, and would overcome the present barrier to a wider use
of isotopes in hydrology posed by a lack of easy availability of isotope analysis.
The use of the laser isotope machine could result in a large number of isotope
measurements worldwide, which would help to provide the necessary
information to address some key hydrogeological challenges, such as the

35
understanding and management of aquifer recharge, identifying groundwater
flow patterns or establishing the relationships between surface and ground
waters.

H.1.2. Desalination

There is continuing progress in using nuclear energy to desalinate sea

water, driven by the expanding global demand for fresh water and by
developments in small and medium sized reactors that may be more suitable
for desalination than large power reactors. In the field of nuclear desalination,
Japan has accumulated over 143 reactor-years of experience and Kazakhstan
accumulated 26 reactor-years before shutting down the Aktau fast reactor
in 1999.
India is proceeding with the full commissioning of the nuclear
desalination demonstration plant at Kalpakkam, at which desalination using
reverse osmosis (RO) has been in operation for several years and desalination
using the multi-stage flash process is scheduled to start in 2006. In 2004, India
commissioned a low temperature evaporation plant at the CIRUS heavy water
research reactor at Trombay utilizing its moderator waste heat for producing
high quality water from sea water. In 2005, the Korea Atomic Energy Research
Institute (KAERI) applied for a construction permit for a one-fifth scale,
65 MW(th) prototype of a System-Integrated Modular Advanced Reactor
(SMART) with a desalination unit. Pakistan has begun construction on
coupling a multi-stage distillation plant with the existing pressurized heavy
water reactor at the Karachi nuclear power plant for demonstration purposes.
In China, a test system is being set up in the Institute of Nuclear and New
Energy Technology for validating the thermal-hydraulic parameters of a multi-
effect distillation process. In Egypt, construction of the pre-heat reverse
osmosis (RO) test facility is scheduled for completion in 2006.

H.2. Environment

H.2.1. Demining

The investigations on the applicability of nuclear techniques for the

detection of explosives including landmines have shown that targets smaller
than 100 g cannot be detected with adequate reliability, especially in wet or
damp conditions, and that the neutron backscatter based technique is of utility
for arid zones alone, because it is the hydrogen component in the explosive that
is detected. It has been difficult to identify any single nuclear technique as
being superior or as the first line of inspection. The nuclear techniques are

36
more likely to serve as ‘confirmatory’, after initial identification of a non-
specific suspect sample/area. For the latter, one also requires some non-nuclear
techniques. Accordingly, further research is being pursued to develop
application of a combination of techniques and involving neutrons of different
energies (as also suitable neutron sources for field applications) by a number of
groups from both developed and developing countries under the IAEA’s
coordination.

H.2.2. Radionuclide Tracers for Ocean Circulation and Climate Coupling

Oceanic circulation is one of the key processes that control our climate.
The ability to use radionuclides as tracers for oceanic processes is to a large
extent driven by recent advances in clean sampling and analytical techniques as
well as high precision mass spectrometry measurements. These techniques have
been one of the stimuli of the recently implemented international research
programme GEOTRACES which aims to coordinate research on oceanic
cycling of trace elements and their isotopes. It is expected that this programme
will significantly boost understanding of oceanic radionuclide behaviour.

H.2.3. Bioaccumulation in Marine Food Chains

Radionuclides and metals can be accumulated by aquatic organisms and

magnified in concentration if the excretion is less than the uptake, a process
called bioaccumulation, which can give a contaminant a greater potential for
toxicity in the food chain. Some studies have shown that bioaccumulation may
occur for toxic radionuclide and metal contaminants, such as polonium,
selenium, zinc and cadmium. It appears that metals that are bound to proteins
in biota seem more likely to be bioaccumulated, but as yet there is still no
systematic assessment available to evaluate bioaccumulation of various metals
in marine food chains. Using radiotracers, the IAEA Marine Environment
Laboratory has commenced investigations into a range of metals to measure
their potential to bioaccumulate in different marine food chains.

H.2.4. Unravelling Carbon Cycles with Compound-specific Isotope Analysis

The oceans contain 50 times the quantity of carbon dioxide (CO2) found
in the atmosphere and each year draw down 30–40% of the CO2 generated
from the burning of fossil fuels by humans. The oceans thus play a pivotal role
in the global carbon mass balance. Carbon isotopes (carbon-14 and carbon-13)
have enabled geochemists to track global CO2 cycles and such techniques will
be valuable in assessing future mitigation options. Isotope chemists have

37
succeeded in miniaturizing and merging these carbon isotope techniques into
gas chromatography isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-IRMS), making
possible the analyses of carbon isotope ratios in less than a millionth of a gram
of organic compound, enabling the identification of many more sources,
pathways and fates of organic compounds and pollutants found in the
environment.

38
 Annex I
NUCLEAR POWER IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Throughout its 52 year history nuclear power has been mainly used in
industrialized countries. Of the world’s 441 currently operating nuclear power
reactors, 403 (or 91%) are in either OECD countries or countries with
economies in transition. In terms of electrical generating capacity, 349 GW(e)
out of 368 GW(e), or 95% of nuclear generating capacity is installed in these
countries. In terms of new construction, however, the pattern is largely
reversed. Sixteen of the 27 new reactors under construction (59%), and
11.1 GW(e) out of 21.8 GW(e) (51%), are in developing countries. The most
ambitious plans for nuclear expansion are in China and India. China, with three
nuclear power plants under construction at the end of 2005, plans to expand
nuclear capacity from 6.6 GW(e) today to 40 GW(e) by 2020. India, with eight
plants under construction, plans to expand from 3 GW(e) to 29 GW(e) by 2022.
Pakistan, with 425 MW(e) and one plant under construction at the end of 2005,
plans to add approximately 8 GW(e) by 2030.
For nuclear power in general, 2005 was a year of rising expectations,
partly because of the potential expansion in developing countries due to their
continuing need for substantially increased energy supplies, and partly because
of concerns about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fired electricity
generation, particularly coal.
In March, high level representatives of 74 governments, including
representatives from 31 developing countries, gathered in Paris at a conference
organized by the Agency to consider the future role of nuclear power. The vast
majority of participants, among them several countries currently without
nuclear power programmes, affirmed that nuclear power can make a major
contribution to meeting energy needs and sustaining the world’s development
in the 21st century.
This annex reviews the prospects and challenges for the expansion of
nuclear power in developing countries. Each country is unique, and its national
plans and approach reflect the special features of its own situation. At the same
time, many countries face similar challenges and can benefit from sharing their
assessments and experiences.

A. The Central Motivating Factor — Growing Energy Needs

Affordable clean energy services are critical to meeting the economic

aspirations of developing countries, advancing sustainable development and

39
meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The International
Energy Agency (IEA) currently estimates that about 1.6 billion people, mostly
in developing countries, do not have access to electricity, and that the number
will drop only modestly, to 1.4 billion by 2030. Table I-1 shows the current
disparity in electricity use per capita for selected countries and regions. Values
are generally highest for the Nordic countries, which have abundant
hydroelectricity and long, cold, dark winters; for the small oil-rich countries;
and for the geographically large OECD countries (Australia, Canada and
USA). The lowest values are for countries in Africa, which had an overall
average consumption of 593 kW·h/capita in 2003. The African average is only
22% (one-fifth) of the world average and 7% (one-fifteenth) of the OECD
average.
Looking to the future, the IAEA’s low and high energy projections that
were described in Section A.2.1 of the main text project that global energy use
will rise, between 2004 and 2030, by between 47% (low projection) and 100%
(high projection). The IEA’s latest reference scenario projects a 59% increase
between 2002 (the IEA base year) and 20301, comparable to the IAEA’s low
projection. The IEA also projects for developing countries as a group (the
IAEA’s projections group countries only geographically) that energy use will
grow about twice as fast as the world average, by 106% between 2002 and 2030.
For electricity use, projected growth is about twice as fast as for overall energy
use, and again the pace in developing countries is twice the world average —
97% growth for global electricity between 2002 and 2030 compared with 209%
in developing countries.
As a result, by 2030 developing countries are projected to produce, in
absolute terms, more electricity than the OECD, even though their per capita
electricity use will still lag behind the OECD. Altogether more than
2400 GW(e) of new or replacement capacity will be needed in the developing
countries over that period, representing a cumulative investment of
$2.2 trillion.2 Transmission and distribution add another $3 trillion of
investment requirements. But even with these investments, and faster growth in
developing countries, the projected gap for 2030 in per capita electricity use is
still large: 2300 kW·h/capita in developing countries compared to 10 400 kW·h/
capita in the industrialized world.

1
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY, World Energy Outlook 2004,
OECD/IEA, Paris (2004).
2
Ibid.

40
TABLE I-1. Per capita electricity use in selected countries and regions,
2003a

kW·h/capita/a
2003

Ethiopia 33
Nigeria 148
Kenya 158
Ghana 290
Vietnam 503
India 597
Indonesia 526
African average 593
Egypt 1 348
China 1 500
Jordan 1 639
Latin American average 1 911
Thailand 1 922
Turkey 1 996
Mexico 2 113
Islamic Republic of Iran 2 307
Brazil 2 277
Argentina 2 641
World average 2 670
Chile 3 092
Poland 3 704
Hungary 4 056
South Africa 4 997
Russian Federation 6 295
Italy 5 940
United Kingdom 6 731
Saudi Arabia 6 792
Republic of Korea 7 249
Brunei Darussalam 7 975

41
TABLE I-1. Per capita electricity use in selected countries and regions,
2003a (cont.)

kW·h/capita/a
2003

Austria 8 095
France 8 099
Japan 8 214
OECD average 8 612
Belgium 8 776
Bahrain 10 910
Australia 11 411
United Arab Emirates 12 259
USA 14 040
Kuwait 16 612
Sweden 16 551
Canada 18 425
Iceland 29 412
a
IEA, 2003.

B. Differences Among Countries

These broad trends towards increased and more widespread use of

electricity in developing countries do not mean that nuclear power is an equally
appropriate option for all countries. In general, nuclear power can be more
attractive where energy demand is growing rapidly, where alternatives are
scarce or expensive, where energy supply security is a priority, where reducing
air pollution and GHGs is a priority, where financing can look longer-term,
where the domestic legal, regulatory, industrial and research infrastructure is
well established, or where high-technology development is a priority.
In developing countries, more so than in developed countries, nuclear
power has been used by big countries. China and India have by far the biggest
nuclear programmes among developing countries, with 15 operating reactors in
India and nine in China. Other developing countries with nuclear power
programmes include Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Pakistan and South Africa,
each with two operating reactors.

42
 Limited domestic energy resources were an important factor in the
decisions by Argentina, Pakistan and the Republic of Korea to develop nuclear
power. While China, India and South Africa had more substantial domestic
resources, these were often separated by large distances from energy demand
centres, making more attractive the option of nuclear power close to demand
centres. Brazil had large hydropower and biomass resources, but many of these
were also distant from demand centres, and nuclear power promised both
greater supply diversity and desirable nuclear technology spin-offs. Mexico,
even though a net energy exporter due to oil, chose to develop nuclear power
to diversify its energy supplies in view of low reserve-to-production ratios for
its oil and gas resources.3
In China and India, the sheer size of energy demand, and the speed at
which it is growing, mean that essentially all possible energy options must be
developed. In both countries, coal-fired electricity generation at the mine
mouth is by far the lowest-cost generation option. But as soon as the electricity
needs to be transported over long distances, or the coal needs to be transported
to a distant power plant, other generating options such as nuclear power
become competitive. And again, the pace at which electricity demand is
growing strongly supports the rapid expansion of every available option.

C. Other Key Factors

C.1. Economics

Future decisions on investing in nuclear power in developing countries

are likely to turn much more on economics, specifically comparative generating
costs, than they did in the past. Existing nuclear power programmes in
developing countries have been largely financed by the public sector. The
public sector does not require the same rapid return on investments as do
private investors in liberalized markets, and it can directly incorporate in its
decisions beneficial externalities that are effectively invisible to private
investors, such as national energy supply security, the development of an
advanced high technology industrial base and environmental protection. In the
Republic of Korea, for example, high first-of-a-kind nuclear power costs were
accepted as part of a long term national energy strategy that anticipated (and

3
INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Comparative Assessment
of Energy Options and Strategies in Mexico until 2025, IAEA-TECDOC-1469, IAEA,
Vienna (2005).

43
subsequently realized) both eventual cost reductions from ‘technology
learning’ and spin-off economic benefits from developing the country’s high
technology sector. A recent study estimated these economic spin-off benefits
from nuclear power at about 2% of the country’s GDP.4
Nuclear power plant designs generally benefit from economies of scale: as
the technology has developed over the years, the designs available on the
market and preferred by utilities in industrialized countries have grown larger
and larger. The 1600 MW(e) EPR on which construction started in 2005 in
Finland is 32 times the size of the eight, four-decade-old gas cooled reactors
retired in the last few years in the UK. The high capital costs and low operating
costs of nuclear power plants also make them attractive for baseload power.
Thus economic considerations are most favourable for nuclear power in
markets that can use large units for continuous baseload generation, and in
areas with high demand densities and large electricity grid infrastructures.
Large metropolitan areas, or areas with concentrated energy intensive
industries are better suited for nuclear power than rural areas with low demand
densities or without integrated grids, where off-grid renewables such as
biomass, wind, solar or small scale hydropower, if available, may be more
appropriate than nuclear power.
The comparative economics of nuclear power depend also on the
economics of alternatives and thus on the economic prospects of renewables
and particularly coal, oil and natural gas, which dominate current and projected
electricity generation. The prices of all three have risen substantially in the last
few years thus improving nuclear power’s competitiveness. Uranium market
prices also increased several-fold since 2001, but because uranium constitutes
about 5% of nuclear power generating costs, this price increase — unlike those
of fossil fuels — has hardly affected electricity costs. The increase in oil prices is
of less direct consequence for nuclear power. Oil’s share of electricity
generation is small and declining. It is somewhat higher in developing countries
than for the world as a whole, but still declining, from 12% in 2002 in
developing countries to an estimated 5% in 2030 (again using the latest IEA
reference scenario). However, power plants fired by natural gas and coal do
compete with nuclear power, and rising global demand for gas and coal has
pushed up their prices as well. In addition, the prices of gas contracts are often
linked to the prices of oil and oil products. The shares of coal in electricity
generation are high (38% worldwide and 45% in developing countries) and

4
KOREA ATOMIC ENERGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE, Study on the
Contribution of Nuclear and RI Technology to the National Economy, Rep. CR-209/
2004, KAERI, Seoul (2004).

44
projected to be relatively stable through 2030. Natural gas, on the other hand, is
rising in importance — from 17% in 2002 in developing countries to an
estimated 26% in 2030, almost as high as the world average.
Higher current world market prices for fossil fuels have put nuclear
power on the agenda of several developing countries currently without nuclear
power and have revived interest in countries with stagnating nuclear power
programmes. The current high prices for fossil fuels are also likely to be more
permanent than were those of the 1970s because they are driven largely by
demand increases. Energy demand growth driven by continuing economic
development is expected to persist — hence the pressure on prices is likely to
last.
High world market prices for fossil fuels have the greatest impact on
countries that are highly dependent on energy imports, particularly developing
countries with relatively scarce financial resources. A doubling of international
prices translates into generation cost increases of about 35–45% for coal-fired
electricity and 70–80% for natural gas. In contrast, a doubling of uranium
prices (which have also increased recently — see Section A.2.4) increases
nuclear generating costs by only 5%.

C.2. Energy Supply Security

Because of higher fossil fuel prices and growing energy import

dependence, many countries are giving increasing attention to concerns about
energy supply security. The IEA reference scenario estimates, for example, that
from 2002 to 2030, oil importing developing countries in Asia will reach almost
the same (increasing) level of import dependence as the OECD countries,
despite starting from a lower level today. Oil import dependence in the OECD
is projected to rise from 63% to 85%; for developing countries in Asia the
projected rise is from 43% to 78%. The IEA also emphasizes that the adverse
economic impact of higher oil prices is more severe in developing countries,
partly because their economies are generally more energy intensive. “The loss
of GDP caused by a $10 oil price increase would average 0.8% in Asia and
1.6% in very poor highly indebted countries in the year immediately following
the price increase. The loss of GDP in the sub-Saharan African countries would
be more than 3%.”5 This compares to an estimated GDP loss in the OECD of
‘only’ 0.4%.

5
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY, World Energy Outlook 2004,
OECD/IEA, Paris (2004).

45
 Rising fossil fuel and uranium prices not only affect the relative
competitiveness of electricity generating options but can also affect supply
security. Concerns about energy supply security were important in the nuclear
expansion programmes of France and Japan at the time of the 1970s oil shocks,
they are one of the arguments advanced in Europe today for expanding nuclear
power, and they may prove an important motivation for some countries
currently without nuclear power to strongly consider the possibility.
Developing countries with sizable domestic fuel resources have recently begun
looking at the possibility of introducing nuclear power in the 2015–2020 time
frame. These include OPEC members Indonesia and Nigeria. For them the
immediate impact of increased oil prices is not the same as that for oil
importers, but the logic may lead in the same direction. Nuclear power can be a
vehicle to increase export revenues by substituting domestic demand for
natural gas (and to a lesser extent oil) with nuclear power. The additional
export earnings may well finance the construction of part or all of a country’s
first nuclear power plants. Also some oil and gas exporters, for example
Indonesia, may be interested in nuclear power as a way to reduce currently
high rates of oil and gas resource depletion.
In sum, the best way to strengthen a country’s energy supply security is by
increasing the number and resiliency of energy supply options, and for many
developing countries, expanding nuclear power would increase the diversity of
energy and electricity supplies. Moreover, nuclear power has two features that
generally further increase resiliency. The first was noted above: that nuclear
electricity generating costs are much less sensitive to changes in fuel prices than
are fossil-fired electricity generating costs. Second, the basic fuel, uranium, is
available from diverse producer countries6, and small volumes are required,
making it easier to establish strategic inventories. In practice, the trend over the
years has been away from strategic stocks toward supply security based on a
diverse well-functioning market for uranium and fuel supply services. But the
option of relatively low-cost strategic inventories remains available for
countries that find it important.

C.3. Environment

Environmental considerations may weigh increasingly in favour of

nuclear power. Nuclear power at the point of electricity generation does not
produce any emissions that damage local air quality, cause regional
acidification or contribute to climate change. There are some emissions

6
See Section A.2.4 of the main text.

46
associated with plant construction and the nuclear fuel cycle (i.e. mining,
enrichment, transportation, etc.). But on a per kW·h basis over the lifetime of
the plant these are far below emissions from fossil fired power plants and
comparable to those of wind power and biomass conversion.
A number of developing countries confront significant urban air
pollution and associated public health problems. For them, the most important
environmental benefit of nuclear power may be immediate local reduction in
particulate and sulphur dioxide pollution if it replaces either old polluting fossil
fuelled power plants or direct urban use of coal and other polluting fuels.
Nuclear power’s very low GHG emissions create less immediate environmental
benefits, but they also have been cited by several developing countries as an
important advantage of nuclear power. Developing countries face generally
higher potential impacts from future climate change than do industrialized
countries. They are often more dependent on agriculture, more vulnerable to
sea-level rise and severe weather, and less able to afford expensive adaptation.
However, under the Kyoto Protocol, developing countries are less able than are
industrialized countries to convert nuclear power’s very low GHG emissions
into a monetary benefit visible to investors. The Protocol’s Clean Development
Mechanism (CDM), the only one of its three flexibility mechanisms open to
developing countries, explicitly excludes nuclear power projects for the first
commitment period, 2008–2012. In contrast, emissions trading for Annex I
countries (essentially the industrialized countries) does not exclude nuclear
power.

D. Prerequisites and Challenges

Nuclear power is an advanced technology requiring specific skills and

supporting infrastructure, and it involves nuclear material that, if mismanaged,
could create risks concerning public health, the environment, illicit trafficking
and nuclear weapons proliferation. Nuclear power’s first half century has seen
the development both of international markets for equipment, fuel and
services, and of international agreements designed to protect against risks. A
country starting a nuclear power programme can benefit from these markets
and the framework of existing agreements in resolving challenges associated
with introducing nuclear power, such as establishing the legal basis, assuring a
skilled labor force and industrial infrastructure, attracting investments, assuring
public safety and building international confidence and support. Specific
responses to these challenges in any given country will depend on that
country’s resources and on its goals for the use of nuclear power, ranging from
simply buying electricity from a neighbour with nuclear power plants to

47
multiple nuclear fuel cycle facilities, e.g. fuel fabrication in addition to power
generation.

D.1. Legislation

An initial legal framework relevant to nuclear energy exists in many

countries as nearly all countries make use of sealed radioactive sources in
industrial or medical applications; 64 countries have experience with research
reactors; and most countries are party to one or more international agreements
related to peaceful uses of nuclear energy. These include, but are not limited to,
the Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident, the Convention
on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency,
the Convention on Nuclear Safety, the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent
Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, the
Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, the Vienna
Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage, the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Code of Conduct on the Safety of
Research Reactors, and the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of
Radioactive Sources and the Supplementary Guidance on the Import and
Export of Radioactive Sources.
National legislative requirements are to some extent indicated, e.g. in the
above referenced treaties and agreements. However, a country’s body of
nuclear law, including both its legislative and regulatory components, should
include, as described in the IAEA’s Handbook on Nuclear Law7, provisions for
the regulatory body; for licensing, inspection and enforcement; for radiation
protection; for controlling sources of radiation and radioactive material; for the
safety of nuclear facilities; for emergency preparedness and response; for the
transport of radioactive material; for managing radioactive waste and spent
fuel; for nuclear liability and coverage; for relevant safeguards provisions and
export and import controls; and for physical protection of nuclear material and
facilities. It should be emphasized that each State must develop its own
legislative framework based on its own situation, including its constitutional
and legal framework, cultural traditions, scientific, technical and industrial
capacities, and financial and human resources. Legal texts developed by other
States can provide useful references as to how others have resolved issues of
legislative drafting. The core approach is that the regulatory body should be
independent from agencies that promote nuclear activities, and the prime
responsibility for the safety of any facility rests with the operating

7
Handbook on Nuclear Law, IAEA, Vienna (2003).

48
organization8. The national legal environment, in terms of laws governing
contracts, ownership, liability, taxes, financial transactions, and government
regulation, can create advantages for effective operation of international
networks and markets of nuclear equipment, fuel and services, as well as attract
investment capital.

D.2. Technical and Managerial Capability

Other important factors are the technical and managerial capabilities of a

country’s workforce, institutions and industry with respect to nuclear
technologies. For example, the more experience a country has in handling and
regulating nuclear materials through experience with research reactors and
with medical and industrial radioactive sources, the better position it is in to
introduce nuclear power. Nonetheless, a nuclear power programme would
require a significant expansion in the demands on the workforce, on relevant
institutions and on supporting industry.
While no country can adopt nuclear power without an appropriate level
of technical capability, it is not necessary that a country have all the skills to
operate and manage all activities of a nuclear power plant when it decides to
start its first nuclear power project. Although it is essential to make appropriate
provisions for the human resources that will be required during design
selection, bid evaluation, licensing, construction, commissioning and operation,
it may be that many of the necessary skills can be obtained from the nuclear
plant supplier, at least in the first few years. At the very least, however, a
country must possess sufficient knowledge to ensure safe, reliable operation
and competence in regulation, operation and management of all nuclear
activities. Well established organizational and management programmes are
essential for developing and building up capabilities for the safe and reliable
operation of nuclear power plants.

D.3. Financing

A principal challenge for many countries is financing. Nuclear power is a

capital intensive technology with reported overnight capital costs for the
designs available today ranging between about $1500 and $2200/kW(e),
depending on technology, unit size and location. The nuclear industry is
working to reduce these costs to $1200–$1500/kW(e) over the next decade

8
INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, The Safety of Nuclear
Installations, Safety Series No. 110, IAEA, Vienna (1993).

49
through standardization, series construction, harmonization of national safety
requirements, innovation and technology learning. Still, even if these cost
reductions could be accomplished by 2015, a 600–1000 MW(e) nuclear power
plant would have investment costs of $720 million to $1.5 billion. For
comparison, natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plants in a similar
capacity range would cost about $350–800 million. Moreover, NGCC plants are
available in smaller units than nuclear power. Thus the investment requirement
for a complete NGCC project could be as small as $60 million for a 100 MW(e)
unit.
Capital in developing countries is often scarce, and energy projects must
compete for capital with other national investment needs including health care,
education, transportation and industrial development. Government budgets as
well as the resources of State owned utilities are often inadequate even for
small investment projects. In addition, all investments carry risks, and risks
spread among several smaller projects (say ten $100 million projects) can be
more attractive to investors than the risk of a single large billion dollar
investment. For nuclear power, risks include cost overruns and delays during
construction, unsatisfactory technical operating performance, low subsequent
demand for the product (electricity) in the market place, low product prices
due to low cost competition, and unexpected changes in regulations and
relevant government policies.
One approach to lowering the investment requirement for nuclear power
is the development of commercial reactor designs that are smaller than those
currently offered on the market. These are discussed briefly in the section on
technology below. Smaller reactors would reduce the required initial
investment and lower associated infrastructure costs; in countries with small
electricity grids they would also be matched to the grid.
For effective investment in a nuclear power project, electricity tariffs
must be high enough to cover full generating costs. Other important features
are market transparency and a ‘level playing field’ with respect to alternative
sources of electricity.
In many cases, governments attach high priority to providing affordable
electricity based on their socio-political priorities. Government guaranteed
long term feed-in tariffs could alleviate investor concerns about short term
returns on their investments. In this case, several commercial concepts could be
applied. The strategy of build–own–operate provides external financing and
relieves the host country of investment risks while creating less pressure to
develop the necessary local skilled labour force and infrastructure. Build-own-
operate-transfer is similar, but includes the eventual transfer of the plant to the
local utility or authority, including all assets and liabilities. Additional
variations on these themes include the leasing of a plant or fuel.

50
 In the case where a country or utility has accumulated sufficient equity or
can offer sufficient collateral (e.g. based on revenues from oil and gas exports),
the country can reduce its exposure to the up-front risks of cost overruns and
construction delays by arranging turnkey contracts with vendors, in which all
risks are borne by the vendor until the plant is completed and connected to the
grid.
Should fuel leasing or spent fuel take-back agreements become broadly
available, these would effectively outsource spent fuel management and
possibly reduce eventual waste disposal requirements and strengthen non-
proliferation assurances. Although such arrangements have received increased
attention recently, and although they are not unprecedented, their practical
application today remains limited.
Additional ways to reduce costs include requiring a sizable localization
factor, i.e., contributions to plant construction based on local industries and
labour. These may reduce capital costs due to lower costs for labour and some
material in developing countries and can reduce foreign exchange
requirements. Regional or multi-country sponsorship of a nuclear project can
reduce the costs and risks borne by any one country. Regional integration
would have the additional advantage cited above — the creation of a larger
grid allowing countries with small national grids to still take advantage of the
economies of scale represented by the large units currently offered by vendors.

D.4. Technology

In addition to the institutional innovations discussed above, technological

innovation together with persistent evolutionary improvement in current
technologies, also serve to reduce the threshold that must be overcome to begin
a nuclear power programme.
Many developing countries have existing electricity grids that are either
small, unreliable, or both. This creates problems for the introduction of nuclear
power. The nuclear power plant designs currently available and on the market
and proven through operational experience are generally large and operate
most cost-effectively as baseload plants. There are basically three approaches to
the problem: increased grid reliability, bigger grids and smaller nuclear power
plants. Increased grid reliability is especially important if a country wishes to
introduce nuclear power. The second approach, increasing the grid size, can take
the form of direct expansion of the grid, which can be expensive or impractical,
or of integrating with another grid, particularly through interconnections with
the electrical grids of neighbouring countries. In well integrated regions the total
grid can be many times the size of a national system, providing a more secure
power supply and fewer interruptions to the demand load.

51
 Concerning the third approach, there are many designs for small and
medium sized reactors (SMRs), some of which are likely to become available
commercially within the next ten years, that could be more readily
incorporated in a small grid. SMRs do not benefit from economies of scale, but
lend themselves to a number of alternative approaches to reducing unit costs:
system simplification, component modularisation, factory fabrication and
direct site installation, the possibility of staggered construction of multiple
modules, and standardization and construction in series.
In 2005, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) applied
for a construction permit for a one-fifth scale 65 MW(th) prototype SMART,
which ‘co-generates’ electricity while desalinating sea water. In the Russian
Federation, a barge mounted floating 300 MW(th) KLT-40S co-generation
plant has been completed and licensed for construction to begin in
Severodvinsk in 2007. The 165 MW(e) pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR),
developed in South Africa, is planned for demonstration at full size by 2012.
A number of the SMR designs being developed are in the category of
‘reactors without on-site refueling’. These are defined as reactors designed for
infrequent replacement (every five to 25 years) of well-contained fuel cassettes
in a manner that impedes clandestine diversion of nuclear fuel material. The
category includes factory fabricated and fuelled reactors, and the general
expectation is that the supplier country would retain all back end
responsibilities for spent fuel and waste. The potential benefits include possibly
lower construction costs in a dedicated facility in the supplier country; lower
investment costs and risks for the purchaser, especially if the reactor is leased
rather than bought; reduced obligations for spent fuel and waste management;
and possibly a higher level of non-proliferation assurances to the international
community.

E. International Possibilities to Facilitate the Introduction of Nuclear Power

in Interested Countries

The nuclear reactor and fuel cycle industry today functions well and
provides both choice and resiliency to its customers. However, there are several
non-market disincentives, or barriers, facing countries contemplating either
starting nuclear power programmes or expanding currently small programmes.
These are summarized below, along with suggestions for how they might be
reduced.
With current heightened concerns about proliferation and security, the
risk of a political interruption in fuel cycle services is a disincentive for a
country considering nuclear power. The December 2004 report of the UN

52
Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, the
February 2005 report of the IAEA Director General’s Expert Group on
Multilateral Approaches to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, and the UN Secretary-
General’s March 2005 report, In Larger Freedom: Towards Development,
Security and Human Rights for All, recommend exploring possible
arrangements for assured supplies of nuclear material needed to fuel power
reactors. Current discussions of assurances focus on enrichment because of its
immediate proliferation risk, although some proposals to strengthen non-
proliferation suggest multinational approaches to other parts of the nuclear
fuel cycle as well.
New entrants into nuclear power also face two back end challenges that
the original nuclear power pioneers did not. First, there is a greater expectation
that before introducing nuclear power a country will establish its waste solution
more definitively than in the past. Second, national laws in many States
prohibit the export and import of high level waste, and precedents for the
permanent export of spent fuel or high level waste are very limited. A national
disposal site for a small nuclear programme could be prohibitively expensive.
Implementation of cost effective multilateral disposal options could allow more
countries to benefit from nuclear power.
As has been noted several times, new nuclear power plants are expensive
to build but inexpensive to operate, and this front-loaded cost structure is
amplified for a country starting a nuclear programme. It must establish a legal
structure, a regulatory structure, a spent fuel and waste management plan and
otherwise build up the necessary infrastructure. To the extent any of these
start-up costs could be reduced through new international arrangements, the
benefits of nuclear power would become more accessible to aspiring countries.
Such arrangements, implemented through the IAEA or other institutions,
could provide assistance with planning, contracting, financing, training,
outsourcing and public information as well as with the fuel cycle issues already
discussed.

53
 Annex II
STORAGE AND DISPOSAL OF SPENT FUEL
AND HIGH LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE

A. Introduction

Although different types of reactors have different types of fuel, the

descriptions in this summary are, for simplicity, based primarily on the fuel
used in light water reactors (LWRs). Most of the procedures and conclusions
also apply to other types of reactor fuel.
Nuclear fuel consists of fuel pins that are stacks of uranium oxide or
mixed uranium plutonium oxide (MOX) cylindrical ceramic pellets, with
diameters of 8–15 mm, that are encapsulated in metallic tubes. The fuel pins are
grouped together in fuel assemblies. Each fuel assembly can be handled as a
single entity, thus simplifying the fuelling and defuelling of reactors and the
subsequent handling of spent nuclear fuel.
The useful life of a fuel element in the core of an operating reactor is
usually 3–7 years. By the time it is removed from the core it is highly
radioactive and generates both heat and radiation, primarily gamma radiation
and neutrons. The fuel elements are therefore handled and stored under water,
which provides both the necessary cooling and necessary radiation shielding.
Over time both the radioactivity and the cooling requirements decrease. The
minimum period for storing spent fuel under water is 9–12 months, after which
cooling requirements have usually dropped enough that dry storage can be
considered. Shielding requirements, however, remain for thousands of years.
The spent fuel is 95–96% uranium with an enrichment level at or slightly
above that of natural uranium, 1% plutonium, 0.1% other actinides and 3–4%
fission products. The uranium and plutonium can potentially be reused for new
nuclear fuel.
Two different management strategies are used for spent nuclear fuel. In
one the fuel is reprocessed to extract usable material (uranium and plutonium)
for new fuel. In the other, spent fuel is simply considered a waste and is stored
pending disposal. If the spent fuel is to be reprocessed, it is shipped to a
reprocessing facility where the fuel elements and fuel rods are chopped into
pieces, the pieces are chemically dissolved, and the resulting solution is
separated into four basic outputs: uranium, plutonium, high level waste
(HLW), and various other process wastes. In terms of cooling and shielding, the
HLW, which contains fission products and actinides, needs to be handled
similarly to spent fuel of the same age.

54
 As of today, France, China, India, Japan and the Russian Federation
reprocess most of their spent fuel, while Canada, Finland, Sweden and the
USA have currently opted for direct disposal.1 Most countries have not yet
decided which strategy to adopt. They are currently storing spent fuel and
keeping abreast of developments associated with both alternatives.

B. Spent Fuel Storage

Regardless of the strategy chosen, spent fuel management always

involves a certain period during which the spent fuel is stored.

● For initial cooling and shielding, all spent fuel needs to be stored under
water in storage pools at the reactor facility directly after its removal from
the reactor and prior to being transported off-site. This initial storage
period lasts a minimum of 9–12 months to allow both the radiation level
and heat level to decay sufficiently. In most cases spent fuel is stored in
these on-site pools for several years, and sometimes up to tens of years,
depending on the storage capacities of the pools.
● If the fuel is to be reprocessed, it is transported to a reprocessing facility
and stored there in buffer storage pools before being fed into the process.
Modern reprocessing plants have large buffer storage capacities.
● Fuel not destined for reprocessing remains stored in the original reactor
storage pools or is transported to separate ‘away from reactor’ (AFR)
fuel storage facilities. Despite their name, these AFR facilities may be
either on a part of the reactor site or at other dedicated sites. Currently
there are around 90 operating commercial AFR spent fuel storage
facilities around the world, most of them being dry storage facilities at
reactor sites.

There are two storage technologies in use today: wet storage in pools or
dry storage in vaults or casks. There are now more than 50 years of experience
with wet storage of spent fuel in water pools. Figure II-1 shows the pool at the
CLAB wet storage facility in Sweden. Wet storage is a mature technology, and
likely will continue to be used for many years. However, as delays are incurred
in implementing plans for geologic repositories and for reprocessing, storage of
spent fuel for extended durations of several decades is becoming a reality. This

1
In February 2006, the USA announced a ‘Global Nuclear Energy Partnership’,
which includes the development of advanced recycling technologies for use in the USA.

55
 FIG. II-1. The pool at the CLAB wet storage facility in Sweden.

trend of more storage for longer durations is expected to continue, and some
countries are now considering storage periods of 100 years or more. While no
significant problems are anticipated with extended wet storage, it is important
to monitor these facilities, learn from experience and apply the results in
designing and operating newer facilities, from the beginning, for extended
storage.
Dry spent fuel storage is a younger technology that has developed
substantially over the past twenty years. It is more limited in heat dissipation
capability than wet storage, but has the advantage of being modular, which
spreads capital investments over time, and, in the longer term, the simpler
passive cooling systems used in dry storage reduce operation and maintenance
requirements and costs. Dry storage facilities use a variety of configurations
including modular vaults, silos and casks. Figure II-2 shows the casks at the
ZWILAG facility in Switzerland and the Fort St. Vrain vault in the USA.

FIG. II-2. Dry fuel storage technologies: casks at the ZWILAG facility in Switzerland
(left) and the Fort St. Vrain vault in the USA (right).

56
C. Spent Fuel Arisings and Future Issues

From today’s 441 operating nuclear power plants in 30 countries, over

10 000 metric tonnes of heavy metal (t HM) are unloaded each year, with
annual discharges projected to increase to ~11 500 t HM by 2010. Since less
than one third is reprocessed, an additional 8000 t HM/year, on average, will
need to be placed in storage facilities.
The total amount of spent fuel generated worldwide in the 52-year history
of civilian nuclear power is over 276 000 t HM, of which roughly one third has
been reprocessed, leaving around 190 000 t HM of spent fuel, mostly in wet
storage pools but with an increasing amount in dry storage. Figure II-3 shows
how the amounts of spent fuel generated, reprocessed and stored around the
world have evolved since 1990, and includes projections through 2020 based on
a reference scenario lying between the high and low projections reported in
Section A.2. The total cumulative amount of spent fuel that will be generated
by 2020 is estimated at 445 000 t HM, of which about 324 000 t HM will still be
in storage rather than recycled.
Based on now more than 50 years of experience with storing spent fuel
safely and effectively, there is a high level of confidence in both wet and dry
storage technologies and their ability to cope with the rising volumes shown in
Fig. II-3. However, increasing storage inventories, extended storage periods
and the evolution of reactor designs and operating practices mean that the
engineering and management of storage facilities must also evolve. Increased
inventories and extended storage periods mean, first, a need for more capacity
and for assuring that facilities are designed and operated, or upgraded, for

500

450 Discharged

400 Reprocessed
Stored (including storage for reprocessing)
350

300
1000 t H M

250

200

150

100

50

0
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020

FIG. II-3. Historical and projected amounts of spent fuel discharged, reprocessed
and stored.

57
longer term storage. Second, the long term integrity of the fuel must be assured
for its long term storability and retrievability. Third, storage facilities must be
successively adapted to new and evolving fuel designs, e.g. the current trends
toward use of MOX fuel and higher fuel burnups (and corresponding higher
enrichment levels in fresh fuel). None of today’s trends promise great
difficulties for evolving storage technology. Some, for example the trend
towards applying burnup credit (i.e. removing the assumption that stored fuel
has the same reactivity as fresh fuel) create the potential for increasing the
amount of spent fuel stored in a given space, thereby reducing the need for new
capacity, reducing costs and reducing operational exposure.

D. Storage of High Level Waste

Liquid high level waste (HLW) from the reprocessing of spent fuel is first
solidified directly at the reprocessing facility. The most frequently used
solidification process is vitrification, i.e. the waste products are melted together
with glass material at high temperatures such that they are incorporated into
the glass structure. The melted mixture is poured into stainless steel containers,
and, after controlled cooling, these are sealed by welding and then
decontaminated to remove possible surface contamination. To give a specific
example, at COGEMA’s La Hague reprocessing plant in France, HLW is
calcinated, mixed with borosilicate glass powder and melted in an induction
furnace at 1100ºC. The steel canisters into which the melted mixture is poured
are 1.34 m long and 0.43 m in diameter. One canister can hold the HLW from
1.3 t HM of reprocessed spent fuel.
Special storage facilities have been built for these HLW containers at
spent fuel reprocessing plants. The containers must be continually cooled to
avoid thermal stress and to prevent possible changes in the glass structure.
Depending on how much heat is generated, stored containers can be cooled by
natural or forced air convection. Any air used for cooling is filtered to remove
possible contamination before being exhausted to the general environment.
Dry storage can ensure the integrity and safety of vitrified HLW for extended
storage periods (i.e. more than 50 years) while geological repositories are being
developed.
Figure II-4 shows the storage hall for vitrified waste at La Hague.
Canisters are stored in vaults, each with a number of channels, the round tops
of which are visible in the picture. Each channel can hold up to twelve canisters
stacked on top of each other. The storage facilities are modular, so that they
can be extended as the need arises, and very compact. The technology used

58
 FIG. II-4. The storage hall for vitrified waste at La Hague.

permits storage of all vitrified waste from 50 years’ operation of France’s

59 nuclear power plants on an area the size of a rugby field.

E. Disposal of Spent Fuel and High Level Waste

E.1. Guiding Principles

The main characteristics governing spent fuel and HLW disposal are the
long lived radioactivity content of the spent fuel or HLW, its heat generation
and its radiation level. The heat generation limits the amount of waste that can
be disposed of in a given volume of rock. High radiation levels require that all
waste handling is shielded and/or uses remote handling systems. And the
amount of long lived radioactivity means that the safety of a repository is an
issue that must be considered looking forward for tens to hundreds of
thousands of years.
The fundamental design objective of geological repositories is to confine
the waste and to isolate it from the environment. Adequate long term safety
must be provided without reliance on active controls or ongoing maintenance.
Geological repositories are therefore designed to be passively safe, such that
continued indefinite institutional control is not required to assure safety.
Nonetheless institutional control will likely be maintained for a long initial
period to provide additional reassurance and to comply with current safeguards
and security requirements, issues that have received increasing attention in
recent years.
General guiding principles can be found in the multilateral legal
instruments adopted under the IAEA’s auspices, in particular the Convention

59
on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and the Joint Convention on the
Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste
Management. With respect to guiding principles specifically for the disposal of
spent fuel and HLW, a more detailed discussion is also available in the Safety
Standards Series publications issued by the IAEA.2

E.2. Technical Principles and Solutions

To comply with the guiding principles described above, all countries with
well developed disposal concepts incorporate the following basic technical
principles in their national approaches:

● Encapsulation of spent fuel or HLW in a tight canister with a very long

expected lifetime;
● Assurance that the conditions in the repository will allow the canister to
remain intact and tight for as long as possible (such conditions include, for
example, mechanical stability, stable geochemical conditions and very
limited ground water movement that could bring corrosive agents in
contact with the canisters); and
● Backfilling of the repository with appropriate materials and locating it in
geological media that, together with the backfill, strongly limit water
movement and, eventually, waste movement when the integrity of the
canisters finally breaks down.

Technical solutions reflecting all three of these principles are already

available today, although all will likely be continually improved and refined to
take advantage of new technical advances in waste management and materials
technologies. Figure II-5 shows the multi-barrier concept for spent fuel disposal
in Sweden. It has barriers at three levels. First is the waste matrix and initial
waste package. In the Swedish case, the solid fuel pellets and fuel rod cladding
provide barriers at this level. Second are engineered barriers, i.e. the copper
canister with a cast iron insert, surrounded by compacted bentonite (Fig. II-5).
Third is the host formation, e.g. the extensive crystalline bedrock in Fig. II-5.

E.3. Implementation

No geological repository for spent fuel or HLW has yet been built. The
only operating geological repository to date is the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

2
See http://www-ns.iaea.org/standards/.

60
FIG. II-5. The Swedish concept for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel as an illustration off
the multi-barrier concept.

(WIPP) in the USA. Since its start up in 1999, WIPP has been disposing of low
level transuranic (long lived) radioactive waste generated by research and the
production of nuclear weapons. In addition to WIPP, good progress has been
made in several countries (discussed below) on repositories for HLW or spent
fuel from commercial nuclear power plants. However, none is expected to start
operation until around 2020.
Only two countries, Finland and the USA, have settled on sites for their
geological repositories. Sweden has narrowed its candidate sites to two, at
which it is currently conducting research. Site selection has raised substantial
public interest in most countries, and it is important that the selection process
develops public confidence in a country’s waste management approach.
Different countries use different approaches, reflecting in part their different
legal systems and different national cultures. However, the several site
selection processes currently underway all seek to involve in the decision
process a broad range of different stakeholders.
It is important to emphasize that waste disposal in any country involves a
sequence of decisions spread out over decades. Each of these is, in theory,
reversible although, in practice, some approaches would lend themselves to
reversibility better than others. For example, switching from direct disposal of
spent fuel to reprocessing would be easier if spent fuel were in long term
surface storage rather than buried in a geological repository. Reasons that
some stakeholders might prefer approaches that ease later reversibility include
the greater ability to take advantage of new technology, of new management

61
approaches, of enhanced safety options, of new scientific information and of
changed economic circumstances.
The following examples summarize work on the siting and construction of
repositories, and on associated research and development, in several countries
that have made substantial progress.

E.3.1. United States of America

The USA is pursuing disposal of spent fuel from nuclear power plants and
HLW from the weapons programme in Yucca Mountain in the State of Nevada.
The work is performed by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of
Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. Scientific investigations have been
ongoing at the site since 1978, although it was only approved by the President
and Congress in 2002.
The repository design involves placing ‘waste packages’ of encapsulated
spent fuel horizontally in tunnels (referred to as ‘emplacement drifts’) at a
depth of about 300 m. The water table at the site is at 600 m. Over the waste
packages will be drip shields to limit water contact, and in the floors of the
emplacement drifts there will be additional barriers of stainless steel and
crushed volcanic rock. The design allows a high degree of flexibility for
adjusting such items as waste packages and package spacing. The main access
to the repository will be through the original research tunnel drilled in 1997.
The Yucca Mountain repository is designed to be a monitored geological
repository that allows future generations the choice of either closing and
sealing it as early as possible, or keeping it open and monitoring it for a longer
period. The design is underpinned by a substantial science and technology
programme that, among other things, takes advantage of the site’s
underground testing facility, which consists of tunnels, alcoves and niches
where research is conducted on water flow, seepage, fractures and faults
mapping, heat impact, etc.
Since Presidential and Congressional approval for Yucca Mountain
in 2002, the DOE has been preparing a formal license application for
consideration by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The application had
earlier been scheduled for submission by the end of 2004, but has been delayed
by, among other things, a court ruling in 2004 that the environmental standards
set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were less stringent than
required by law. New standards have now been proposed by the EPA, but they
have not yet been finalized.

62
E.3.2. Sweden and Finland

Sweden and Finland are pursuing similar technology and time schedules
for repository development. In both countries spent fuel will be disposed of
directly without reprocessing. Although separate repositories are planned, one
in each country, the design of the repositories will be similar and much of the
development work is carried out as joint projects.
Spent fuel will be encapsulated in a copper canister with an iron insert.
The iron insert provides mechanical stability and the copper shell corrosion
protection. Each canister is about 4.8 m long, has a diameter of 1 m, and weighs
around 25 t. The canisters will be disposed of in tunnels (KBS-3H) or
deposition holes (KBS-3V) at a depth of 400–700 m in crystalline bedrock. The
void between the bedrock and the canisters will be filled with compacted
bentonite clay (Fig. II-5).
In Sweden, the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company,
SKB, is currently pursuing site investigations for a deep repository in the
municipalities of Oskarshamn and Östhammar, both sites close to nuclear
power plants. The site investigations should be completed in 2008, and
according to the current time schedule, an application to build the repository
will be made at the end of 2008. Trial operation could start in 2017. During the
trial operation phase 200–400 canisters will be disposed of. During and after
this phase, a thorough evaluation of the repository performance will be made.
The repository is expected to be filled around 2050, and the different sections
of the repository can then be fully sealed.
In Finland, the Government made a policy decision in 2000, which was
ratified by the Parliament in 2001, to proceed with a disposal project for spent
nuclear fuel in Olkiluoto in the Municipality of Eurajoki and to construct an
underground rock characterization facility, ONKALO, at the site. The site is
close to a nuclear power plant, and the decision was supported by the
Municipality of Eurajoki and by STUK, the Radiation and Nuclear Authority.
Construction of ONKALO started in the summer of 2004 with the excavation
of the spiral ramp tunnel. The excavation will be 420 m deep in 2008 and,
eventually, 520 m deep. ONKALO is being built in a way that would also allow
it to later serve as access to the repository. The application for the construction
license for the disposal facility is scheduled for 2012, and the repository should
be ready for use in 2020.
The repository development work in Sweden and Finland is already
supported by an extensive research programme, including the Äspö Hard Rock
Laboratory (HRL), whose activities both improve scientific understanding of
important processes in the rock and test technical approaches to disposal. For
example, Äspö HRL has developed a full-scale prototype of a radiation

63
FIG. II-6. Prototype deposition machine for vertical disposal. The machine tilts
the canister into the deposition hole.

shielded and remote controlled deposition machine (Fig. II-6) for vertical
disposal.

E.3.3. France

The 1991 Bataille Law on the management of high level long lived waste
committed France to a 15 year research programme focused on three ‘axes’.
Axis 1 is partitioning and transmutation (P&T). Axis 2 includes both
retrievable and non-retrievable geological repositories. And Axis 3 covers
conditioning and long term storage. The year 2006 will mark the completion of
the 15 year research programme, and the Bataille law calls for a review of the
research results at this stage and anticipates new Parliamentary action to adjust
the French strategy based on the research results and current French priorities.
ANDRA, the national radioactive waste management agency, which is in
charge of Axis 2, and the Commissariat à l’énergie atomique (CEA), the
national research body on nuclear energy, which is in charge of Axes 1 and 3,
submitted reports summarizing their research to the Government in June 2005.
ANDRA’s report includes results achieved in experimental drifts at a depth of
445 m in clay. These results have been evaluated by a National Assessment
Commission, composed of 12 independent scientific experts who have

64
reviewed the full 15 years of research, by two peer reviews organized under the
auspices of the OECD/NEA, and by the national nuclear safety authority.
In addition, the French Government, in order that society as a whole
should take part in the country’s forthcoming choices, submitted the subject to
the National Commission on Public Debates (Commission nationale du débat
public — CNDP), which organized 13 public hearings between September 2005
and January 2006.
A draft law based on all these inputs was put before Parliament in
March 2006.
With respect to Axis 1, P&T, the research to date suggests that facilities to
demonstrate P&T on an industrial scale might be possible by 2020–2025, with
subsequent commercial operation possible by 2040.
With respect to Axis 2, retrievable and non-retrievable geological
repositories, ANDRA has conducted research in a clay formation at the border
of the Meuse and Haute-Marne departments in eastern France and participates
in experiments in underground research laboratories (URLs) abroad,
particularly in granite formations. ANDRA is considering a possible schedule
for a French geological repository that would foresee construction around
2015-2020 and commercial operations starting in 2020–2025.
With respect to Axis 3, conditioning and long term storage, France
already has substantial experience in storing vitrified HLW. Research has been
designed to build on this industrial experience with storage for time horizons
on the order of 50 years, with the aim of extending storage periods to
100–300 years.
France’s future strategy will be determined by Parliament in the course
of 2006. There is no requirement that Parliament choose just one of the three
axes to move forward on. It may well prefer a strategy that focuses on
complementarities among the three.

E.3.4. Canada, Switzerland and Japan

Canada, after having frozen previous generic URL research activities, has
redefined its national strategy for spent fuel management. In November 2005,
following a three year, nation-wide consultative process, Canada’s Nuclear
Waste Management Organization recommended an ‘adaptive phased’
approach to managing Canadian spent fuel. During the next 30 years spent fuel
would continue to be stored at reactor sites, a suitable site for a deep geological
repository would be selected, and a decision would be made whether to also
construct a centralized shallow underground storage facility to start receiving
spent fuel in about 30 years. With or without a centralized facility, the deep
repository would begin accepting spent fuel in about 60 years.

65
 In Switzerland, the revised Nuclear Energy Law adopts the concept of
‘monitored geological disposal’ as proposed by the Swiss Expert Group on
Disposal Concepts for Radioactive Waste. It envisages a facility in which, after
emplacement, waste is monitored for a substantial period before the facility is
closed. The concept combines passive safety, as provided by deep disposal in a
stable geological formation, with a cautious stepwise approach to
implementation that is intended to address not only scientific and technical
issues but also societal concerns.
Japan’s programme on geological HLW disposal moved in 2000 from
generic R&D towards implementation with the passage of the Specified
Radioactive Waste Final Disposal Act and the establishment of the Nuclear
Waste Management Organization of Japan (NUMO) as an implementing
organization. NUMO is responsible for site selection, construction, operation,
maintenance, closure and post-closure institutional control for an HLW
repository. NUMO’s overall schedule envisions an operating repository coming
on-line in 2033–2037.

E.4. International Cooperation in Geological Disposal

The understanding of major processes and phenomena associated with

deep geological disposal has improved significantly due in part to in situ
observations and testing performed in URLs. URLs are expensive and limited
in number. Thus, international cooperation to share the opportunities and
knowledge that they generate is an important complement to national research
programmes and both speeds national progress and improves research cost-
effectiveness.
The IAEA Network of Centres of Excellence promotes joint training and
technical capacity building, ranging from repository design to performance
assessment and site investigations, all of which also contributes, in part, to
building broader confidence in geological disposal. The network makes URLs
in Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the USA
available to other countries. It helps disseminate technologies that have been
developed in national and other international projects, as well as providing
specific training in the areas mentioned above. As such, it complements
important additional international cooperation under the auspices of the
OECD/NEA, particularly in the areas of the safety case for geological disposal,
waste management strategies and public involvement in decision making.

66
F. Multinational Options for the Storage or Disposal of
Spent Fuel or Nuclear Waste

The management of spent fuel or radioactive waste is based on national

strategies for collection, treatment, storage and disposal. According to the
preamble of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management
and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management: “…radioactive waste
should, as far as is compatible with the safety of the management of such
material, be disposed of in the State in which it was generated”. However, the
preamble of the Joint Convention also notes, “…that, in certain circumstances,
safe and efficient management of spent fuel and radioactive waste might be
fostered through agreements among Contracting Parties to use facilities in one
of them for the benefit of the other Parties”. This provision recognizes that for
countries that generate only limited amounts of spent fuel or waste, and for
those without favourable geological sites for disposal, national facilities may
prove much more expensive than in neighbouring countries with better geology
and economies of scale. Developing multinational disposal options in these
cases would increase the cost-effectiveness of nuclear power.
A number of studies have also argued that multilateral storage facilities
and repositories can benefit from economies of scale and more cost effective
siting relative to the system of separate national facilities and have outlined
important factors that would have to be addressed in developing multinational
facilities.3 These studies also highlight the need to resolve several legal and
institutional issues connected to multilateral facilities and the importance of
addressing political, social and public acceptance issues.
More recently international cooperation on the storage and disposal of
spent fuel and waste has received additional attention because of its potential
non-proliferation benefits. The February 2005 report of the IAEA Director
General’s Expert Group on Multilateral Approaches to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle
reviewed the policy, legal, security, economic, institutional and technological
incentives and disincentives for cooperation in various multilateral fuel cycle
arrangements. The report suggested, among other things, that fuel leasing and
take-back (which would require a repository accepting foreign spent fuel or
HLW), the voluntary conversion of existing facilities to multinational status
(including for storage and disposal), and the creation of new voluntary

3
INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Developing Multina-
tional Radioactive Waste Repositories: Infrastructural Framework and Scenarios of
Cooperation, IAEA-TECDOC-1413, IAEA, Vienna (2004); Technical, Economic and
Institutional Aspects of Regional Spent Fuel Storage Facilities, IAEA-TECDOC-1482,
IAEA, Vienna (2005).

67
multinational facilities (again including storage and disposal) would all
strengthen non-proliferation assurances.4

4
Multilateral Approaches to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Expert Group Submitted to
the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, INFCIRC/640,
IAEA, Vienna (2005).

68
 Annex III
THE FRONT END OF THE URANIUM FUEL CYCLE

A. Introduction

Uranium, the heaviest naturally occurring element in the periodic table, is

an energy resource and the basic raw material for nuclear fuel. The amount of
free energy contained in nuclear fuel is millions of times the amount of energy
contained in fossil fuels such as coal, oil or gas, making nuclear fission a
promising source of primary heat energy. Natural uranium is mildly radioactive
and contains ~99.28% uranium-238 (238U), ~0.71% uranium-235 (235U) and
traces of uranium-234 (234U). The 235U nucleus, when struck by a neutron, will
nearly always fission, or split into two or more smaller nuclei (fission products),
while releasing heat energy (Fig. III-1). 235U is therefore termed a ‘fissile
isotope’. The nucleus of the more abundant isotope 238U, when stuck by a
neutron will absorb the neutron and become uranium-239 (239U), which
undergoes two consecutive ß- decays to yield plutonium-239 (239Pu), which, like
235
U, is also a fissile isotope. The 238U is therefore termed a ‘fertile isotope’.
Plutonium does not occur in nature but is produced in nuclear reactors from 238U.
The present generation of nuclear power reactors worldwide derive
energy from the fission of 235U. In some reactors, e.g. pressurized heavy water
reactors (PHWRs), natural uranium can be used directly as nuclear fuel, and

Fission Chain Reaction

U - 235 U - 235
Heavy Fission Product
Neutrons (mass number 139)
Fission
Neutrons
+ 200MeV Energy +

Light Fission Product

(mass number 95)

Production of Fissile Isotope239

Pu
238 239 239 239
U U Np Pu
Neutrons β -
β -

FIG. III-1. Fission of uranium-235 and formation of plutonium-239 from uranium-238.

69
 UO2 Fuel Pellets
37 Elements
PHWR Fuel
Zircaloy clad,
Natural UO2

MAGNOX
Mg Alloy Clad
Natural U Metal Pin

17x17 9x9 AGR

PWR 312 Fuel
BWR Elements SS Clad
(<5%U235)UO2

Zircaloy clad VVER-1000

(<5%U235)UO2 Zr-
Zr-1%Nb
1%Nb clad
(<5%U235)UO2

FIG. III-2. Natural and enriched uranium fuels for operating nuclear power reactors.

for most reactors, in particular light water reactors (LWRs), the concentration
of 235U is still low. To be used in LWR fuel uranium needs to be enriched to only
2–5% 235U.
Most operating power reactors use uranium in the form of uranium oxide,
and to a lesser extent mixed uranium–plutonium oxide (MOX), cylindrical
pellets as shown in the centre top of Fig. III-2. The fuel pellets are encapsulated
in long cladding tubes. For LWRs, PHWRs and the graphite moderated, light
water cooled Russian RBMKs, these are made of zirconium alloys. For
advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGR) they are made of stainless steel. Uranium
carbide, mixed uranium plutonium carbide and uranium nitride pellet fuels
have been used in small demonstration fast reactors. A few reactors still use
uranium metal fuel.

B. Uranium Resources, Geology and Minerals

Uranium is more plentiful than metals like antimony, beryllium, gold,

mercury, silver or tungsten and is about as abundant as tin, arsenic and
molybdenum. The Earth’s crust and oceans contain some 2.7 ppm and 0.003 ppm
of uranium, respectively. The major ore mineral of uranium is uraninite (basically

70
UO2) or pitchblende (U2O5.UO3, better known as U3O8), although a range of
other uranium minerals also occur naturally. The average U3O8 content in
uranium deposits discovered to date, is between 0.03% and 20%. As with other
minerals, the distribution of uranium deposits generally follows a geologically
determined pattern, i.e. the age, rock type and mode of formation are the most
important factors for explaining patterns of uranium deposits.
Uranium resources are broadly classified as either conventional or
unconventional. Conventional resources are those that have an established
history of production where uranium is either a primary product, co-product or
important by-product. Conventional resources are further divided into four
categories according to the level of confidence in their occurrence: reasonably
assured resources (RAR), inferred resources, prognosticated resources and
speculative resources (SR). The first two are collectively known as identified
resources.
The category RAR includes uranium that occurs in known mineral
deposits of delineated size, grade and configuration for which it is possible to
specify the quantities that could be recovered, with currently proven
technologies, within given cost ranges (see below). The inferred resources
category includes uranium, the occurrence of which is inferred, based on direct
geological evidence, in extensions of well explored deposits or in deposits with
established geological continuity. Prognosticated resources are uranium
resources that are expected to occur in well-defined geological trends of known
deposits, or mineralized areas with known deposits. Speculative resources refer
to uranium that is thought to exist in geologically favourable, yet unexplored
areas. Categories are further subdivided according to the costs of the recovered
ore at the processing plant: <$40/kg U, <$80/kg U and <$130/kg U. Figure III-3
shows the overall IAEA–OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA)
classification scheme for uranium resources together with the amounts
estimated in each category.1
Uranium resources classified as unconventional, in which uranium exists
at very low grades or can only be recovered as a minor by-product, include
about 22 million tonnes that occur in phosphate deposits and up to 4000 million
tonnes in sea water. The technology to recover uranium from phosphates is
mature, but costs are high (~$60–100/kg U). From sea water only laboratory
scale quantities have yet been extracted, and costs are estimated to be on the
order of $300/kg U.

1
OECD NUCLEAR ENERGY AGENCY/INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC
ENERGY AGENCY, Uranium 2005: Resources, Production and Demand, No. 6098,
OECD, Paris (2006).

71
 Cost category Identified Resources Prognosticated Speculative
Resources Resources
Reasonably Assured Inferred
Resources (RAR) Resources
Decreasing economic attractiveness

Additional resources 3.0 Mt U

with no cost estimate

Total < $ 130/kg U* 3.3 Mt U 1.4 Mt U 2.5 Mt U 4.6 MtU

$ 80-130/kg U 0.7 Mt U 0.3 Mt U

$ 40-80/kg U 0.7 Mt U 0.4 Mt U

< $ 40/kg U 1.9 Mt U 0.8 Mt U

Decreasing confidence in estimates

* Totals may not add due to rounding.

FIG. III-3. Classification scheme for conventional uranium resources.

Figure III-4 shows the distribution of identified uranium resources

around the world. Australia has the largest resources, followed by Kazakhstan
and Canada. However, Canada’s Cigar Lake and McArthur River are the
richest uranium deposits in the world with average U3O8 content between
15 and 20%. For the last few years, Canada has been the world’s largest
uranium producer, followed by Australia. Notably, uranium is mostly located
and produced in countries without nuclear power programmes and mostly
consumed in countries with neither uranium resources nor production.

C. Uranium Supply and Demand to 2050

From the beginning of civilian nuclear power in the 1950s through the mid
1980s, the annual production of uranium exceeded demand. Annual
production of uranium peaked at 69 080 tonnes uranium (t U) in 1980,
gradually declined thereafter to 31 500 t U in 1994 and then rose to 40 263 t U
in 2004. Since the early 1990s, annual production has been consistently lower
than uranium demand, and the gap has been filled by five secondary sources:
stockpiles of natural uranium, stockpiles of enriched uranium, reprocessed
uranium from spent fuel, MOX fuel with 235U partially replaced by 239Pu from
reprocessed spent fuel and re-enrichment of depleted uranium tails (depleted
uranium contains less than 0.7% 235U).
The rapid global expansion in the 1960s and early 1970s drove up the
price of uranium (see Fig. III-5) and prompted an expansion in exploration and
production capacity. However, the slowdown in nuclear power’s growth after

72
 Identified uranium resources below $130/kg
(total = 4.7 million t U in 2004)

India China
1% 1% Others
11%
Uzbekistan
2% Australia
24%
Russian Federation
4%
Niger
Russian Federation 5%
Canada
Kazakhstan 4% Brazil
9%
17% 6%

Namibia Kazakhstan
USA 17%
6%
7% Uzbekistan
China South Africa
2%
Niger 1.3% 7% USA Canada
7% 9%
5% India
1.4% Uranium production
(total = 40 263 t U in 2004)
Others
9%
USA
Brazil Namibia
2%
6% 6%
Uzbekistan Canada
5% 29%
South Africa
7% Australia Namibia
8%
24%

Russian Federation
8%

Niger
8%
Australia
Kazakhstan
22%
9%

FIG. III-4. Distribution of identified uranium resources and uranium production

in the world in 2004.

300

250

200
U Price ($/kgU)

150

100

50

0
1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

then current $ constant 2005 $

FIG. III-5. Uranium spot prices: 1967–2005.

73
 250000

200000

150000
tU

100000

50000

0
2003 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050

IAEA High Consultancy High Consultancy Ref Consultancy Low IAEA Low

FIG. III-6. Uranium demand projection through 2050 (source: IAEA).

1975 and the concomitant price decline decreased the incentives for
exploration and production, and, when the price reached a historic low of
$18/kg U in the 1990s, led to the closure of several mines. However, as
expectations have risen recently about the future expansion of nuclear power,
and as secondary supplies appear likely to tighten, the uranium industry has
revived with an upswing in uranium exploration, mining and milling around the
world. Beginning in 2001, the price of uranium started to climb, and the spot
price reached $112/kg U in May 2006.2
Projecting uranium production and demand into the future is highly
uncertain. To estimate the longevity of current resources, therefore, the Agency
commissioned a set of uranium demand scenarios reflecting a range of
assumptions about economic growth, the competitiveness of nuclear power, the
availability of secondary sources, and other factors. Figure III-6 shows the
resulting low, high and ‘reference’ global projections, and compares them to the
low and high projections through 2030 from Section A.2.1 of the main text. The
projections’ most distinctive feature is their uncertainty. The low and high
projections span an even broader range in 2030 than the low and high
projections reported in Section A.2.1, and the demand projections for 2050
range from 52 000 t U (less than today’s demand) to 225 000 t U, more than a
factor of four higher. However, the overall conclusion drawn by the study is
that the total uranium resource base can supply the projected demand up to

2
Ux Consulting Company (www.uxc.com).

74
 Natural
Natural
Uranium
Uranium
& Thorium

Natural
Uranium

FIG. III-7. Major activities of nuclear fuel cycle.

2050 and beyond. But the gap between uranium ‘in the ground’ and ‘yellow
cake in the can’ will have to be closed by further expansion of uranium mining
and milling capacities.

D. The Uranium Fuel Cycle

Figure III-7 shows the major steps in the principal variations of the
nuclear fuel cycle. Uranium, as it is mined from the ground, is not directly
usable as fuel for power generation. It must first go through several processing
steps to transform it from ore in the ground into nuclear fuel. These steps are
collectively known as the front-end of the fuel cycle. The major steps are:

● Exploration for uranium.

● Mining and milling of uranium ore to produce uranium concentrate
known as ‘yellow cake’.
● Purification and conversion of yellow cake into either natural UO2
powder suitable for making PHWR fuel pellets or gaseous uranium

75
 hexafluoride (UF6) suitable for enrichment to increase the proportion of
235
U.
235
● Enrichment, which increases the proportion of U to 2–5%; the
enriched UF6 is subsequently converted to UO2 powder suitable for
making oxide fuel pellets for LWRs, RBMKs and AGRs.
● Fabrication of uranium dioxide fuel pellets.
● Fabrication of fuel pins made up of stacks of UO2 fuel pellets encapsu-
lated in cladding, which are then grouped in clusters, termed fuel
assemblies.

D.1. Exploration for Uranium

Initial exploration for uranium focused on deposits nearest the surface

and easiest to discover. The highest grade uranium deposits are, however,
buried in deep rock formations. Locating and confirming such deposits requires
advanced technologies like satellite imagery, geophysical surveys, multi-
element geochemical analysis and computerized analyses. Prospective deposits
are then subjected to detailed geological and economic evaluations, after which
mining engineers develop a specific mining plan to extract the ore. Additional
steps prior to implementation include environmental impact assessments,
public consultations and licensing. Altogether the time needed from the
discovery of an ore body to electricity production can span decades.

D.2. Mining of Uranium

Uranium ore is removed from the ground in one of three ways depending
on the characteristics of the deposit (Fig. III-8): open pit mining, conventional
underground mining and in situ leaching (ISL). Open pit mining is used to
recover uranium deposits close to the surface, i.e. generally less than 100 metres
depth. Deep deposits require conventional underground mining. Uranium
underground mines require extra care with ventilation to control particularly
radiation exposure and dust inhalation. Normally the ore is hoisted to the
surface for milling. In some underground mines, however, to reduce radiation
exposure from the high-grade ore, the ore is processed underground to the
consistency of fine sand, diluted with water and pumped to the surface as a
slurry. ISL is a process that dissolves the uranium while still underground and
then pumps the uranium bearing solution to the surface. Depending on the
composition of the ore body, weak sulphuric acid or sodium carbonate is used.
The ISL process limits environmental disturbances on the surface, leaving all
the surrounding rock in place while the dissolved uranium is pumped to the
surface and circulated through a processing plant for extraction. By their

76
Open Pit Uranium Production (total 40 263 tU in 2004)

Co- Others
product/by- 2%
product Underground
11%
Mining
39%
In Situ
Leaching
20%

Open Pit
28%

Underground In-Situ Leaching

FIG. III-8. Major methods of uranium mining currently followed in the world.

nature ISL mines are smaller than open pit and underground mines and require
correspondingly less up-front investment. ISL is the sole extraction method
used in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and currently accounts for nearly all of
production in the US. Table III-1 lists the major operating uranium mining and
milling centres around the world.

D.3. Milling, Refining and Production of Uranium Concentrate

(Yellow Cake)

After mining, ore is transported to a nearby mill for processing. Uranium

ore is a mixture of valuable minerals and waste. Unless the ore is already in the
form of a solution, as is the case with ISL, the first step is to crush the ore and
treat it with acid or alkali to separate uranium from unwanted rock material. It
is then purified using solvent extraction or an ion exchange process to separate
the uranium. Finally, uranium concentrate, popularly known as ‘yellow cake’, is
precipitated from the purified uranium solution, dried and baked. Yellow cake
is basically U3O8, with a colour ranging from yellow to black.

77
TABLE III-1. Large uranium mining and milling centres

Mine Country Main owner Mine type

McArthur/KeyLake Canada Cameco Underground

Ranger Australia Rio Tinto Open pit
Rabbit Lake Canada Cameco Underground
Rossing Namibia Rio Tinto Open pit
Olympic Dam Australia WMC Resources By-product (copper)/
Underground
JSC “Priagunsky”a Russian Federation TVEL Underground
McClean Lake Canada COGEMA Open pit
Akouta Niger COGEMA Underground
Arlit Niger COGEMA Open pit
Vaal Reefs South Africa Anglogold Ashanti By-product (gold)/
underground
a
JSC: Joint stock company.

D.4. Conversion

After milling, yellow cake requires further processing to convert it to

uranium dioxide (UO2) powder or uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas. UF6 is the
form required for subsequent enrichment. The five major conversion
companies, with a combined annual conversion capacity of 62 500 t U are
Rosatom (the Russian Federation), ConverDyn (USA), COMRHEX (France),
CAMECO (Canada) and BNFL (UK). In addition, smaller conversion
facilities operate in Argentina, Brazil, China, India and Romania.

D.5. Enrichment

In the enrichment process the concentration in the uranium of the isotope

235
U is increased. Currently there are two commercial methods of enrichment.
One uses gas diffusion. The other uses centrifuges. In the gas diffusion process,
235
U and 238U atoms are separated by feeding UF6 in gaseous form through a
series of porous walls or membranes that permit passage of the lighter 235UF6
molecules at a faster rate than the heavier 238UF6 molecules. In each step the
uranium becomes slightly more enriched in 235U. A large number of diffusion
stages is required to achieve the desired level of isotope enrichment. Because
this technology requires a large capital outlay for facilities and consumes large
amounts of electricity, it is relatively expensive.

78
 TABLE III-2. World enrichment capacity by tech-
nology (capacity in thousands of SWUs)

Diffusion Centrifuge

China (CNNC) 1 000

France (Eurodif) 10 800
Germany (Urenco) 1 700
Japan (JNFL) 1 050
Netherlands (Urenco) 2 500
Russian Federation 20 000
(Rosatom)
UK (Urenco) 3 100
USA (USEC) 11 300
Others 300

Total 22 100 29 650

In the gas centrifuge process, the natural UF6 gas is spun at high speed in
a series of cylinders known as centrifuges. The rapid spinning flings the heavier
238
U atoms to the outside of the centrifuge, leaving the UF6 in the centre
enriched with a higher proportion of 235U atoms. Gas centrifuge technology
involves relatively high capital costs for the specialized equipment required,
but it uses much less electricity than does gaseous diffusion technology, and its
overall advantages are leading to the gradual replacement of diffusion
technology by centrifuge technology.
Looking ahead, additional advanced enrichment technologies that are
currently under development include atomic vapor laser isotope separation
(AVLIS) and molecular laser isotope separation (MLIS).
Enrichment services are sold in separative work units (SWUs). A SWU
expresses the energy required to separate 235U and 238U. The number of SWUs
required to reach a specific amount of enriched material depends on the
amount, the enrichment of the uranium feed (UF6) at the beginning of the
process, the desired final enrichment, and the concentration of 235U atoms left
over at the end of the process, referred to as the ‘tails assay’. By varying the
level of tails assay, one can find the most economical combination of UF6 feed
and SWUs required for enrichment.
There are currently six primary suppliers of low enriched uranium
(LEU), i.e. uranium with less than 20% 235U, with a total annual nameplate
capacity of approximately 52 million SWUs as shown in Table III-2. In addition

79
 Co-milling,
Oxide + C, Crushing & Milling clinkers
Tableting &
Carbotherrmic
Synthesis
UF6 Integrated Dry Route
Pelletization of UC, UN
IDR Powder

POWDER- Wet Route

PELLET Calcination Pelletization Sintering Sintered
Uranium UO2 Green Pellets of Pellets
Nitrate Solution ADU/AUC UO2, UC or UN
Precipitation Reduction
ROUTES

‘Fuel microspheres’
Calcination for ‘vibratory
followed by hydrogen compaction’ and
Wet Route Hydrated gel reduction for UO2 encapsulation
Microspheres of Loading fuel
Uranium microspheres of
UO2 ,UC or UN pellets in
Nitrate Solution Ammonia oxide/oxide+C
(100-1000 micron) cladding
Gelation (200-2000 micron)
tubes and
(External/Internal) encapsulation
Sol-Gel Routes:
- Microspheres Microspheres for
- Pellets Manufacturing
coated UO2
Corbothermic synthesis of fuel particles
oxide+C for UC & UN
Vibro-packed Pellets in pin
microspheres
in pin

FIG. III-9. Different methods for manufacturing UO2 powder, microspheres and pellets.

to the primary suppliers, Argentina, Brazil, India and Pakistan have very
limited enrichment capacities, totalling 300 000 SWUs.

D.6. Fuel Fabrication

Figure III-9 summarizes the different methods that are used for
manufacturing uranium oxide powder, microspheres and pellets. The first step
is to prepare UO2 powder that can be formed into high density pellets and
sintered, i.e. converted from a powder to a coherent solid mass by heating. The
UO2 powder is prepared from uranium nitrate hexahydrate (UNH) or UF6 by
either wet or dry conversion processes as shown in Fig. III-9. The integrated dry
route (IDR) uses UF6 as a starting material and is the most common method
used for preparing low enriched UO2 powder. The two wet processes,
ammonium diuranate (ADU) and ammonium uranium carbonate (AUC), can
start with either UF6 or UNH as the starting material. The IDR and ADU
processes produce extremely fine (<1 mm) UO2 powder, which is not free-
flowing and therefore requires ‘pre-compaction granulation’ or ‘roll-
compaction granulation’ to obtain free-flowing uranium oxide granules that
can be formed into compacted ‘green pellets’. The AUC process produces
relatively coarse (10–20 mm) UO2 powder that can be directly pelletized
without the granulation step. The powder–pellet routes involve the handling
and generation of fine uranium bearing powders and create a potential

80
radiotoxic dust hazard. The alternative sol–gel process starts with UNH and
produces dust-free and free-flowing hydrated microspheres of uranium oxide.
These can then be further processed to make either high density UO2
microspheres or soft, porous and free-flowing UO2 microspheres. The former
are used for manufacturing coated fuel particles for high temperature reactors
or fuel pins by vibratory compaction. The latter are suitable for direct
compaction to UO2 pellets. In general, vibratory compaction produces less
dense fuel, but can be used for a more flexible range of fuel pin diameters,
while pelletization produces denser fuel with a less flexible range of sizes.
Fabrication capacity worldwide is summarized in Table III-3 for LWR and
RBMK fuel. Canada is the largest producer of natural uranium oxide fuel for
PHWRs, with has an annual capacity of 2 700 t, followed by India (600 t), the
Republic of Korea (400 t), China (200 t), Argentina (160 t) and Romania
(150 t).
Current trends for both LWR and PHWR fuel are towards higher
burnups (i.e. the amount of energy extracted from the fuel before it is removed
from the reactor core) and toward higher performance, i.e. fewer failures.
These objectives require improvements in the fuel manufacturing processes to,
for example, better tailor the fuel microstructure in terms of grain size and pore
structure. Additional fabrication advances are aimed at eliminating fine UO2
powder to reduce radiotoxic dust hazards, expanding automated and remote
operations to reduce exposure to radiation, reducing the number of process
steps, and lowering the sintering temperature and associated costs and process
losses.

E. Concluding Remarks

The front end of the uranium fuel cycle is a well established part of the
nuclear industry with major operations in a number of countries around the
world. The reference fuel for most reactors operating today, or foreseen to
come on line in the next few decades is composed of high density uranium
oxide pellets, both for LWRs, which use LEU enriched to 2–5% 235U, and for
PHWRs, which use natural uranium.
The world’s identified conventional uranium resources of 4.7 million t U
are adequate to fuel today’s reactors for another 85 years. Exploiting the
world’s total conventional resources would extend the number to 270 years.
With the expected growth in nuclear production a more efficient use of the
uranium resource will be beneficial to ensure long term availability. Most of the
reactor types considered for the next generation of reactors (Generation IV),
that will be available in 20–30 years, will increase the resource efficiency

81
TABLE III-3. LWR fuel fabrication capacity worldwide (t HM)

Country Fabricator Conversion Pelletizing Rod/assembly

Belgium Framatome-FBFC/Dessel 750 200

Brazil INB/Resende 160 120 200
China CNNC/Yibin 270 200 200
France Framatome-FBFC/Romans 1200 1000 1000
Germany Framatome-ANF/Lingen 650 650 650
Japan NFI/Kumatori (PWR) 284 284
NFI/Tokai-Mura (BWR) 200 200
Mitsubishi Nuclear Fuel 450 440 440
GNF-J/Kurihama (BWR) 750 750 750
Kazakhstan ULBA/Ust Kamenogorsk 2000 2000 —
Korea, KNFC 400 300 300
Republic of
Russian Fed. MSZ/Elekrostal 1450 1200 1200
NCCP/Novosibirsk 250 200 400
Spain ENUSA/Juzbado 300 300
Sweden Westinghouse/Vasteras 600 600 400
UK Westinghouse/Springfields 950 600 860
USA Framatome/Richland (BWR) 1200 500 500
Framatome/Lynchburg 400 400
(PWR)
GNF/Wilmington 1200 1200 750
Westinghouse (Columbia) 1200 1200 1200

Total 12 730 12 894 10 784

substantially. In recent years, the demand for uranium has been around
66 000 t U per year, much higher than the annual primary uranium production
of approximately 40 000 t U. The gap between uranium demand and the
primary supply from current mines has been bridged by secondary sources, and
these are expected to play a continuing important role in the uranium market
through at least till 2015. In the last few years, uranium prices have risen
substantially, which, in turn has encouraged the expansion of exploration,
mining and production plus an increase in conversion and enrichment
capacities. Currently, there is excess UO2 fuel fabrication capacity globally, but

82
in light of rising expectations for global growth in nuclear power, additional
fuel fabrication capacity will also be needed.

83
 Annex IV
APPLICATIONS OF NEUTRON BEAM TECHNOLOGY

A. Introduction to Neutron Beam Methods

A.1. Historical Developments and Key Milestones

Neutrons have played an important role in the characterization,

development and testing of materials over the past 60 years. Neutrons interact
with different materials in very different ways and by careful measurement of
the transmitted and scattered neutrons the structure and dynamics of materials
can be characterized in a unique way to gather important and sometimes
unique information about the materials under study. The 1994 Nobel Prize in
Physics (www.nobel.se), for example, awarded to Clifford G. Shull and Bertram
N. Brookhouse, is a reflection of the recognition of the impact of neutron
scattering.
In the early days, the utilization of research reactors was closely linked to
the development of the nuclear energy industry as an enabling tool to gain
nuclear expertise. However, emerging applications have driven the evolution of
neutron beam technology to tackle increasingly diverse and intricate
challenges. The development of secondary sources — hot and cold neutron
sources — is an outcome of the need and realization of the power of neutron
beams in the field of science and technology. It is now possible and becoming
common to insert a cryogenic cold neutron source into the reactor reflector
tank. This typically consists of a vessel of several litres of liquid hydrogen or
deuterium, which will produce long wavelength neutrons (0.5–2 nm and
sometimes longer) which are much sought after in research for studies on soft
matter, such as polymers and biological species. It is also possible, but less
common, to insert a ‘hot neutron’ source into the reflector tank, typically
consisting of a thermally isolated graphite chamber, which will produce short
wavelength neutrons (less than 0.1 nm) which are valuable for the study of
disordered solids and for liquids.
Neutron beam science took a major step forward with the commissioning
of the first purpose built reactors in North America and Europe in the late
1960s. The High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) at the Institut Laue-Langevin,
Grenoble, France, for example, is an international venture. It has become the
benchmark for neutron beam science facilities and has been host to a number
of innovations in neutron beam technology leading to the further development
of applications of neutron beam technology.

84
A.2. Neutrons as a Probe: The Basic Properties

The key properties of thermal neutrons which make them important as a

probe are that:

(a) Neutrons are electrically neutral and so can interact directly with the
nucleus of atoms;
(b) They have a magnetic dipole moment, which makes them an ideal probe
for magnetic materials;
(c) Their energy can be readily adjusted in the range 200 meV to 500 meV,
which is comparable with the energies of excitations (vibrational,
rotational and diffusional motion) in matter;
(d) Their wavelengths can be readily adjusted in the range 0.05–2.0 nm, which
spans the range of atomic and molecular spacings in condensed matter.

In consequence, neutrons will often provide information which is

complementary to that obtained from X ray and electron spectroscopy studies.
For example, in biological sciences, hydrogen and deuterium can be selectively
exchanged to functionally distinct molecular sites and thus it is possible to tell
by differences in the observed neutron scattering which sites are active and
which are not in certain bio-chemical reactions. Neutrons are also ideally suited
to in situ measurements in materials in extreme environments of temperature,
pressure or magnetic/electric fields.

A.3. Current Status of Neutron Beam Utilization

Currently there are more than 270 operational research reactors

worldwide. Over 100 have a thermal power greater to or equal to 1 MW, and
thus have the potential for effective beam line application. Many well known
research reactors are overbooked, some are upgraded, new reactors are under
construction and with two major new spallation neutron sources under
construction the prospect for further neutron beam applications is promising
[IV-1]. Nearly sixty years after its birth, the field of neutron beam applications
is expanding in both breadth and depth. Modern neutron beam research
reactors are purpose designed and built to maximize potential for scientific
experiments. There are also a number of smaller university based or national
research reactors of low or medium flux and with low or limited applications
base. These reactors serve as teaching tools and assist in the maintenance of
nuclear expertise. Although it is recognized that some research reactors are
under-utilized, there is nonetheless growth in the industry to meet ever

85
increasing worldwide demand for access to neutron beams to address the more
difficult challenges of scientific research.
The following sections describe the contribution of these interactions to
science and technology in the fields of neutron scattering, neutron radiography,
neutron activation analysis, and emerging and future trends. New emerging
trends are covered by many IAEA technical meetings on neutron beam
applications [IV-2].

B. Neutron Scattering

The application of neutron scattering spans many branches of science, for

example physics, chemistry, materials science and life sciences and also many
branches of engineering research and development. The following sections
describe some of the applications that may be broadly appreciated for their
industrial, societal or other potential benefits.

B.1. Atomic Structure Determination for Materials Design

Most monochromatic neutrons leave the sample with unchanged energy

(elastic scattering) and a preference for certain directions (diffraction). By
counting the neutrons in a rotatable detector, a diffraction pattern is obtained
which shows the relative positions of the atoms in the sample. Neutron
diffraction is often used for advanced materials characterization, for example
in mixed metal oxide systems where detailed knowledge of the role of oxygen is
required, such as high temperature superconductors, colossal magneto-
resistance manganates, ferroelectrics, etc., extending and complementing the
use of X ray diffraction.
Neutron diffraction can reveal the response of structural ceramics to
applied stress as in Ceria doped Zirconia (Ce–TZP), which is a ceramic that
displays the ability to resist thermomechanical stress to a far greater extent
than most materials. Neutrons reveal the two mechanisms responsible for this:
ferroelastic switching, whereby the crystallites are reoriented when
compressive stress reaches the critical value (~1.2 GPa) reducing their length in
the direction of the stress, and the second is by transformation from tetragonal
to monoclinic symmetry, further reducing the length in the stress direction.
Neutrons also revealed that these mechanisms are largely reversible, that is
when the stress is removed the crystallites will largely return to their original
state [IV-3].

86
B.2. Studies of Material Response to Extreme Environments

An emerging application is in fast reaction kinetics, which studies

responses in real time even under extreme environments of temperature,
pressure, magnetic or electric fields, to understand what is driving the reaction.
In order to explore possible clean (pure) and economical synthesis methods, a
real time study of combustion synthesis of the refractory material Titanium
silicocarbide (Ti3SiC2), using neutrons was performed. Titanium silicocarbide
is a unique ceramic in that it possesses ceramic and metallic characteristics
meaning that it is suited to both mechanical and electrical applications. For
example, it exhibits high temperature stability, high electrical and thermal
conductivities as well as having a moderate resistance to oxidation. It has high
fracture toughness at high temperatures and can be machined using hardened
steel tools. Neutron scattering clearly showed the steps that occur in the
recrystallizing in the form of Ti3SiC2 — some of which were completely
unanticipated, but which must be understood to refine synthetic process [IV-4].
In this experiment the precursors Ti, C (graphite) and SiC are rapidly heated
inside a furnace in the path of a neutron beam. The diffraction patterns
(300 ms/pattern) clearly show some phase transitions to intermediate phases,
and then at a critical temperature (~900° C) exothermic reactions in the sample
produce instantaneous self heating to a temperature in excess of 2000° C, at
which point the material self destructs immediately recrystallizing in the form
of Ti3SiC2, which has many potential industrial applications.

B.3. Hydrogen in Metals and Hydrogen Storage

The fundamental and technical challenges associated with a hydrogen

based energy economy are substantial at all stages of the cycle — hydrogen
generation, storage, transport and energy conversion. Because of the sensitivity
of neutrons to hydrogen, the use of neutron beams to investigate potential
hydrogen ‘energy’ materials is emerging [IV-5]. Current research is involved in
the investigation of potential hydrogen storage materials, such as nickel metal
hydrides, alanates (compounds that contain aluminium, (stored) hydrogen, and
a metal like sodium or lithium) and more exotic materials such as nano-carbons
and metal organic framework lattices.
There is much interest in fuel cell development, particularly in polymer
electrolyte membrane cells and the ceramic oxide based varieties. Many of the
challenges of hydrogen generation, for example by water-splitting, involve
materials design challenges in titania based and zirconia based materials.
Alanates can release hydrogen at temperatures close to 353K, the temperature
at which a so-called Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell would extract

87
energy from hydrogen in a car, for instance. Neutrons are an ideal instrument
to observe the stored hydrogen and the release mechanisms in compound
materials.

B.4. Magnetism and Superconductivity

Most knowledge of the magnetic structure of materials comes from

neutron diffraction. The technique has revealed magnetic order across a broad
spectrum of magnetic phenomena, ranging from simple metallic magnets, soft
and hard magnets such as ferrites, and the modern high performance Neo-max
(Nd2Fe14B), which is the permanent magnet of choice for high performance
electromagnetic devices, such as compact electric motors. The scope also
includes a wide range of exotic magnetic systems such as antiferromagnets,
where the orientation of magnetic moments is complex, and two dimensional
and even one dimensional. There is also widespread activity in materials where
the interplay between magnetic and electrical properties offers the promise of
powerful microelectronic devices, e.g. colossal magneto-resistance (CMR)
compounds.
In the field of research and development of superconductivity, neutrons
have provided many insights into structure and function. The superconducting
behaviour of high temperature metal oxide superconductors strongly depends
on the concentration and position of oxygen atoms in the structure, which has
been revealed by neutron diffraction.

B.5. Excitations and Dynamics

Neutron inelastic scattering has been conventionally used to study the

dynamics of atoms and molecules in condensed matter. Studies of collective
excitations in solids, such as the vibrational motion of atoms, phonons (a
quantized mode of vibration occurring in a rigid crystal lattice, such as the
atomic lattice of a solid), or rotational motions of molecules, have provided
information on the nature of binding and phase transitions in materials. The
method has also helped in understanding the motion of ions in super ionic
conductors, such as proton transport mechanisms and magnetic properties of
materials. One key application is in magnetic transport spin waves, helping to
understand how magnetism can be shared and/or transmitted.

B.6. Structural Biology and Biotechnology

Biologists have a direct interest in the study of molecules and molecular

assemblies at low resolution, such as proteins in solutions, viruses, liposomes,

88
FIG. IV-1. Locating the hydrogen atoms in a residue of myoglobin, (A) using X rays, (B)
using neutrons and an unlabelled sample, (C) the calculated structure equivalent to (B),
and (D) using neutrons and a sample where hydrogen has been fully replaced by
deuterium [IV-6].

and also protein complexes with, for example, polyelectrolytes such as DNA.
Neutrons are unique, as they are able to determine the structure and dynamics
of biological macromolecules and their complexes. The similar scattering
signal, using small angle neutron scattering (SANS) from deuterium, carbon,
nitrogen and oxygen allows the full determination of the positions and
dynamics of the atoms in biological structures. The non-destructive method
using neutrons is an ideal complementary tool of investigation if combined with
X ray scattering and/or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements.
Contemporary research areas in biology and the life sciences include
membrane biophysics, drug delivery systems and pharmacology, dental and
medical composites, fillings and implants. In enzyme catalysed processes,
protein folding and denaturation due to pH balance and temperature changes
can be revealed to enable a further understanding of the relationship between
structure and function. The complementary application of neutrons using
neutron single crystal diffraction has directly revealed the location of hydrogen
in myoglobin, a protein in heart muscle (Fig. IV-1 [IV-6]).

B.7. Nanomagnetic Materials for Nanotechnology

Neutron scattering can play a unique role in the field of nanomagnetic

materials. The physical and magnetic properties of magnetic materials can
change drastically when they are reduced to small particle sizes. Recent studies
of nanomagnetic particles have shown some intriguing evidence of macroscopic
quantum magnetic tunnelling, which may shed light on the scalar limits of
quantum mechanical processes. Nanomagnetic materials are of great interest in

89
the magnetic recording industry in the never-ending search for faster, more
compact and more reliable magnetic recording media.

B.8. Polymer Science and Engineering

Polymers are long chain molecules that play an important role in

biotechnology, medicine and nanocomposites. The physical and chemical
properties of polymeric materials are determined by their nanostructure.
SANS can be used to study crystallization kinetics, polymer blend structure,
and response to shear forces [IV-7]. New materials derived from crops are
expected to revolutionise the plastics industry by removing the packaging
waste problem. The rates of degradation of these new polymer materials are of
crucial importance and may be effectively studied by SANS. For example,
SANS revealed the response of polystyrene to the conditions of the extrusion
process. It is through such understandings that polymer mechanical properties
can be optimized.

B.9. Residual Stress Measurements for Engineering

and Industrial Applications

Residual stress measurements using neutrons provide a sensitive tool for

determination of strain on the atomic level. By analogy with the more common
X ray residual stress method, the technique is characterized by the high
penetration depth of the neutron beam, making it possible to measure residual
stress deep inside industrial components. The information obtained underpins
knowledge of materials strength, fracture toughness, creep resistance and
provides early warning of potential failure, which is a vital application in,
for example, aerospace (turbines and stress points); the transport industry
(rails, gears); and pressure vessels, including pipelines [IV-2].

C. Neutron Radiography

A unique characteristic of neutrons is that they “see” the nuclei, rather

than the diffusive electron cloud, which is seen by X rays. Neutron radiography
uses this aspect to view light atoms (e.g. hydrogen) in the presence of heavier
ones. As neutrons are neutral and deeply penetrating, neutron radiography is a
non-destructive evaluation technique which possesses certain unique features
that distinguish it from photon radiography. The interaction of neutrons with
matter is governed by nuclear, rather than electronic characteristics of the
medium, and is complementary to X ray radiography.

90
 Neutron radiography has many industrial applications, as for example, in
motor industries for inspection of running engines. The main application
remains, however, in nuclear materials inspection for examination of irradiated
nuclear fuels and power reactor components.
New detector developments including real time dynamic imaging
technique using devices like charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras make
neutrons an even more versatile instrument of investigation of materials. Some
of the recent developments can be found in recent conference proceedings
[IV-8, IV-9].

C.1. Nuclear Fuel Technology

Neutron radiography is used for non-destructive characterization of

nuclear fuels both freshly fabricated and post-irradiation (post-irradiation
examination, known as PIE). Characteristics that can be examined include
distribution of fissile isotopes, compositional changes in the fuel, physical
integrity of the fuel pellets, dimensional measurement and changes occurring in
the cladding materials and other reactor components. This technique has been
used for characterization of zirconium hydride blisters in zircaloy. It has also
demonstrated its usefulness in the non-destructive characterization of nuclear
fuels containing enriched uranium and plutonium for determination of the
homogeneity of the fissile material. Both thermal and fast reactor fuel pins
have been examined to study the performance of the fuel in the reactors. In the
context of advanced fuels for new reactors, neutron radiography has an
important role to play in the development and characterization of nuclear fuels.

C.2. Aerospace Industry

Inspection of turbine engine blades, adhesives in metallic honeycomb

structures, monitoring of corrosion in aircraft wings and inspection of
pyrodevices used in space launch vehicles has been carried out by neutron
radiography for the non-destructive evaluation of these critical components.
Neutron radiography provides important information about the proper loading
of pyrocharges (as used in airbags) and investigation of aircraft parts as, for
example, honeycomb structures, which are used in aerospace industries as the
preferred core material for buckling and bending sensitive sandwich panels and
structures.

91
C.3. Biomedicine and Agriculture

Neutron radiography has also found its uses in biomedical and

agricultural applications. Distribution and transport behaviour of neutron
absorbing elements such as gadolinium, samarium and cadmium in leaves, the
effect of exhaust gases on the growth of plants and materials detection of
microorganisms are some of the uses of this technique. The effectiveness of
protective coatings used for conservation of wood is studied using neutron
radiography. Water movement in plants and soil, which is important for growth
studies, has been studied using neutron radiography. In biomedicine the
monitoring of boron distribution in boron capture therapy for cancer, the
inspection of heart valves and materials for dentistry are also valuable
applications.

C.4. Other Potential Applications

C.4.1. Civil Engineering

Detection of water absorption in building materials and use of protective

agents in brick samples have been carried out employing neutron radiography
[IV-10], which is also used for investigating geological materials, detection of
cracks in concrete and detection of pores in rocks. Though non-destructive
testing of the concrete is being carried out mainly by ultrasonic techniques,
neutron radiography holds good promise for the study of rocks and
construction materials.

C.4.2. Ordnance Industry

Explosive charges in steel casings are examined using neutron

radiography, which has immediate relevance for the detection of explosives in
packages.

C.4.3. Real time Radiography

Real time radiography has been used for visualization of two phase flow
in components, such as reactor vessels in refineries, where study of the flow
pattern instability is required to develop thermal hydraulic models.
Visualization of the two phase flow and measurement of void fraction have
been carried out using neutron radiography.

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C.4.4. Cultural Heritage

Neutron radiography of various art objects yields important information

about the method of fabrication and history of precious art objects.

D. Neutron Activation Analysis

Neutron activation analysis has been used for the determination of

elements by measuring the characteristic radiation emitted by nuclides formed
in the material when irradiated with neutrons, and is capable of a high level of
accuracy for trace elements. This technique has a variety of applications in
agriculture, food and nutrition, forensic sciences, basic research and various
industries. Detection of trace elements in materials, characterization of
archaeological specimens, and examination of art objects such as paintings
have been done using neutron activation analysis. A novel application has been
reported in the analysis of forensic samples, where the technique provides a
characteristic signature for the samples. Prompt gamma neutron activation
analysis has been carried out for assay of low atomic elements such as hydrogen
and boron.

E. Emerging and Future Trends

Quasi-Laue Diffraction: A diffraction measurement which matches the

wavelength and bandpass to the individual requirements — for rapid structural
determination in single crystals — has emerged over the last decade and speeds
up data acquisition for complex crystal structures from months to hours. This
method is likely to revolutionize the application of neutron diffraction for
determination of small scale chemical structures and catalyse application of the
technique to protein crystallography (traditionally an application where X ray
diffraction is commonly used) and will have the greatest impact in
understanding the role of hydrogen in functionality.
Ultra-SANS is emerging as an alternative tool to conventional ‘pin-hole’
SANS for large scale structure determination, and could be used for the
dynamics of hydration of cement.
The next generation of spallation neutron sources are anticipated to open
up a new era of ground breaking international scientific achievements,
providing enhanced performance of investigations using neutrons. New
instrumentation used with these new sources could potentially give a gain in
sensitivity up to about a factor of 100 [IV-1]. In order to succeed, this effort

93
must be underpinned by good research reactors to allow testing of new
instrumentation and training in enabling knowledge for the big facilities.
Advances in imaging and detectors have made it possible to have good
resolution neutron radiographs. CCD based detectors are being used for real
time imaging of neutrons [IV-11]. Useful information about the nature,
location and orientation of the objects is being extracted by neutron
tomography techniques. A number of new neutron radiography facilities are
also being commissioned with new features. With the development of high
resolution detectors and image processing techniques, three dimensional
neutron tomography has become a powerful tool for investigating complicated
structures.

REFERENCES TO ANNEX IV

[IV-1] INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Development Opportu-

nities for Small and Medium Scale Accelerator Driven Neutron Sources,
IAEA-TECDOC-1439, IAEA, Vienna (2005).
[IV-2] INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Measurements of
Residual Stress in Materials using Neutrons, IAEA-TECDOC-CD-1457,
IAEA, Vienna (2005).
[IV-3] KISI, E.H., KENNEDY, S.J., HOWARD, C.J., Neutron diffraction observation
of ferroelastic domain switching and tetragonal-to-monoclinic transformation
in Ce-TZP, J. Am. Ceramic Soc. 80 3 (1997) 621–628.
[IV-4] RILEY, D.P., KISI, E.H., HANSEN, T.C., HEWAT, W., Self-Propagating High-
Temperature Synthesis of Ti3SiC2: I. Ultra-High Speed Neutron Diffraction
Study of the Reaction Mechanism, J. Am. Ceramic Soc. 85 10 (2002) 2417–2424.
[IV-5] ZABEL, H., “Hydrogen in metals and hydrogen storage”, Pulsed Neutron
Sources (Proc. ICTP School, Trieste, 2005), www.ictp.it.
[IV-6] FONG SHU, RAMAKRISHNAN, V., SCHOENBORN, B.P., Enhanced visi-
bility of hydrogen atoms by neutron crystallography on fully deuterated
myoglobin, Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 97 (2000) 3872.
[IV-7] INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Small Angle Neutron
Scattering, IAEA-TECDOC-1486, IAEA, Vienna (2005).
[IV-8] Neutron Radiography (Proc. 7th World Conf. Rome, 2002), IEEE Trans. Nucl.
Sci. 52 1 (2005).
[IV-9] IEEE Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A542 (2005).
[IV-10] ABD EL GHANY EL ABD, CZACHOR, A., MILCZAREK, J.J.,
POGORZSKI, J., Neutron radiography of water absorption in porous building
materials: Anomalous diffusion analysis,. J. Phys. D Appl. Phys. 37 (2004)
2305–2313.

94
[IV-11] INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Summary Report on
Development of Improved Sources and Imaging Systems for Neutron Radio-
graphy, Internal Report IAEA F1-RC-925-2, IAEA, Vienna (1994).

95
 Annex V
STERILE INSECT TECHNOLOGY —
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

A. Introduction

The use of sterile insects in area-wide integrated pest management (AW–

IPM) programmes will continue to expand as increasing constraints are placed
on the use of chemical pesticides in relation to the public’s growing demand for
a cleaner environment and residue-free food. In addition, the international
standards that regulate global agricultural trade, e.g. the World Trade
Organization (WTO) Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards
(SPS), are creating an environment in which area-wide approaches to the
management of insect pests have a comparative advantage. Expanding
globalization will also lead to the introduction of alien insect pests into new
areas and the sterile insect technique (SIT) can be an effective way to deal with
these introductions. To counter the impact of increasing pest movement will
require increased R&D to develop the SIT for more species and to integrate
the SIT into systems approaches that combine various risk mitigation measures
to allow the export of pest free agricultural products, thus overcoming non-
tariff trade barriers.
The use of the SIT continues to rely on the application of ionizing
radiation as a means to effectively sterilize insects without affecting the ability
of the males to function in the field and successfully mate with wild female
insects. Ionizing radiation is the sole technology that can be used to achieve
these twin goals of sterility induction coupled with effective field performance.
This method is integrated with a whole suite of complementary measures that
ensure success in reducing or eliminating insect pest populations. This
complementarity is achieved through collaboration with other specialized
organisations and, where necessary, using in-house R&D.
The SIT technology has been traditionally associated with programmes
aimed at the eradication, i. e. the complete elimination of all individuals, of pest
populations; indeed it is one of the strengths of the technology that it is able to
do this. However, sterile insects can also be deployed in AW–IPM programmes
in other control strategies. Sterile insects can be released in a containment
strategy to prevent an established pest invading a nearby area still free of the
pest. An example of this is the release of sterile screwworms as a barrier in
Panama to avoid re-invasion of Central America from where this pest has been
eradicated. Sterile insects can also be released in a preventative strategy in

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 FIG. V-1. El Pino Guatemala, the largest mass rearing facility in the world.

pest-free high-risk areas, where there is a permanent threat of the introduction

of an alien species; an example of this is the Preventative Release Programme
for Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly) in California. The majority of sterile flies,
which are continuously being released as part of this programme, come from
the El Pino facility in Guatemala (see Fig. V-1), where the genetic sexing strain
(allowing male-only production) developed by the IAEA is being mass-reared.
A fourth deployment strategy, which is considerably gaining in importance and
encouraging the involvement of the private sector, is to use sterile insects as a
“biological insecticide” to continuously suppress a pest population below a
level which causes economic damage without any intention of eradication of
the pest population.
The continued expansion of the technique will also be facilitated if
commercial companies can become involved and governments may decide to
subcontract private companies to operate a whole programme or just
individual components of a programme. The diversification described above in
the use of sterile insects will help to develop commercialization. However,
commercialization of the SIT has been a difficult concept to promote and
establish, despite the fact that there is currently no shortage of customers who
would purchase sterile insects if they were available. The use of sterile insects
only for eradication of pest populations was not an attractive proposition for
commercialization, but the widespread use of sterile insects for suppression,
containment, and prevention programmes provides some continuity in the
need for sterile insects. Commercialization will require a regulatory framework
to facilitate the production, trade, shipment, and release of sterile insects.
AW–IPM programmes are logistically complex and management
intensive; their implementation requires flexible procedures and

97
non-bureaucratic management structures. In general, the scientists who have
been closely involved with developing the technology should not be
responsible for programme implementation, as other skills are needed. Also
research activities should not be part of an operational programme; instead, a
separate unit (but associated with the programme) is needed for problem-
solving and continuous improvement of procedures; technology can always be
improved. The basic components in the use of the SIT — mass rearing and
release of sterile insects — are hardly likely to change. However, as new
technologies come on line and new scientific discoveries are made, R&D will
continue to play a major role in improving the overall effectiveness and
efficiency of the technique. The topics highlighted below could be some
exciting new R&D components of future SIT programmes.

B. Improving Measurement of Insect Competitiveness

Success or failure of a programme that includes an SIT component is

directly related to the ability of the released sterile males to effectively
inseminate wild females with sperm that is competitive with normal sperm.
This is generally termed “competitiveness” (see Fig. V-2), and it is determined
by many factors related both to the treatment of a particular cohort of released
insects and the developmental history of the mass reared strain used to produce
the cohort for release. These factors have negative impacts on the
competitiveness ability of the released males. However, new protocols and
procedures are continually being designed to minimize these negative effects.
One area of active research is focused on increasing the survival of the released
sterile males by providing an improved adult diet before the flies are released.
An extension of the effective lifespan of the sterile insect in the field would

FIG. V-2. Field cage to evaluate medfly competitiveness.

98
have a significant impact on programme efficiency. However, in order to assess
the effect of these changes, new protocols are being developed through R&D,
which can assess competitiveness in a realistic way. These new protocols have
now been incorporated into an internationally agreed quality control manual
“Product quality control and shipping procedures for sterile mass-reared
tephritid fruit flies” [V-1]. The protocols involve field cage evaluations of
competitiveness and in the future may include very large caged field arenas
where many components of insect behaviour can be researched.

C. Colony Replacement Procedures and Filter Rearing System (FRS)

The artificial environment of a mass rearing facility presents the insect

with a tremendous colonization challenge, i.e. the need to adapt to the artificial
biotic and abiotic conditions. Successful colonization inevitably results in the
selection of adapted genotypes, which are very successful within the facility but
which can impact negatively on the competitiveness of a sterile insect once it is
released in the field. Most mass rearing protocols follow the principle of large
cycling colonies, whereby a proportion of the production is used for
sterilization and release while the remainder is returned to maintain the
production colony. In this system, over time there is an inevitable accumulation
of highly selected genotypes necessitating the regular replacement of strains.
Strain replacement is a major logistical exercise, and research is ongoing to
improve colony holding conditions to increase the viable life of strains under
colonization. This involves assessing the effect of different levels of
colonization stress on field competitiveness.
The Agency’s success in transferring medfly genetic sexing technology to
operational SIT programmes required an R&D effort to develop a protocol to
maintain the integrity of the genetic sexing strain in operational programmes
[V-2]. The filter rearing system (FRS) relies on the careful maintenance of a
pure breeding mother colony from which eggs are harvested, and following
three to four generations of mass rearing the resulting males are sterilized and
released. In the FRS, no insects that have been through mass rearing are
returned to the mother colony, and therefore there is no accumulation of highly
selected genotypes in the colony.
The FRS needs to be further developed in view that it can also make a
major contribution to improving the overall competitiveness of mass-reared
strains as the mother colony can be kept under more natural environmental
conditions, at reduced adult and larval densities, and with reduced selection
pressure for adapted genotypes. In addition, a more natural environment,
preferably under greenhouse conditions with hosts and natural light, could help

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 FIG. V-3. Applying juvenile hormone to a fruit fly.

address the major problem of loss of irritability and predator evasion

behaviour in mass reared insects [V-3]. Significantly more research on the FRS
is required to achieve adoption in mass rearing facilities so that the viable life
of a mother colony is extended and strain replacement becomes a much simpler
procedure and can be done without major disruption of production. It is
anticipated that the size of a mother colony for a large mass rearing facility will
be only about several thousand individuals and this colony can be easily
replaced during one generation.

D. Sterile Male Performance

The application of hormonal, nutritional, semiochemical supplements or

other bioactive materials to sterile males before their release can improve their
competitiveness in the field (see Fig. V-3). The application of juvenile hormone
mimics to emerging sterile male Anastrepha fruit fly species has been shown to
significantly advance sexual maturation by five to seven days. This acceleration
of reproductive development is crucial for improved SIT application as
normally a majority of sterile males are lost to predation and other causes
before they reach sexual maturity [V-4]. Research is ongoing to test these
hormones in other pest species and to develop practical applications under
operational conditions.
Nutritional supplements are critical for sexual development and
signalling in some species, and adding protein to the diet fed to sterile males
prior to release often significantly increases competitiveness [V-5, V-6]. Gut
bacteria are also important in fly nutrition and mass-rearing may even promote
non-beneficial or harmful bacteria. Thus the provision of a diet that contains
beneficial gut microorganisms, is an area with much potential for further R&D
to improve sterile male competitiveness [V-7].

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 Some species that are attracted to natural attractants sequester these as
precursors for pheromone (sexual attractants) production into their systems,
and subsequently release them during courtship and mating. Such components
fed to sterile males of Bactrocera spp. before release can significantly improve
competitiveness [V-8]. The competitiveness of medfly males is similarly
considerably enhanced by exposure of pre-release sterile males to ginger root
oil and citrus peel oils [V-9, V-10]. Even exposure to vapour has this effect,
enabling the development of an “aromatherapy” protocol that will facilitate
application in fly emergence facilities [V-5]. Researchers in a number of
countries are involved under an Agency Coordinated Research Project (CRP)
in expanding the understanding of these phenomena in order to develop direct
application in SIT programmes.
There is also the potential to use sterile males as carriers of various
bioactive materials [V-11]. In auto-dissemination, sterile males would be
inoculated with electrostatically charged powder formulated with
entomopathogens or slow acting insecticides, which would be spread
throughout the pest population through intraspecific interactions, primarily
during mating [V-12]. In auto-confusion, sterile male Lepidoptera (moths)
would carry on their bodies pheromone particles that attract wild males. These
particles would then be transferred among the wild males, resulting in
increased mating disruption, i.e. interfering with wild males finding wild males
for mating [V-11, V-12]. A further possibility is simultaneous mating disruption
of a moth pest and SIT application against a second pest in the same ecosystem.
Sterile male medflies, inoculated with the moth pheromone would cause
mating disruption in the moth population while at the same time suppressing
the medfly population. There are probably many other possibilities of applying
bioactive materials to emerging sterile males, but so far these are only
theoretical, and much research is required to explore the various possibilities.

E. Reducing the Radiation Dose

Radiation is one of the contributing factors to reduced competitiveness of

sterile insects; the higher the radiation dose, the more the competitiveness of the
insect can be compromised. In most programmes, the radiation dose used
produces almost full sterility when measured in a laboratory. However,
measuring sterility in a laboratory does not take into account factors such as
field competitiveness that, in the end, will determine sterility in the wild females.
If a lower dose is used, a more competitive insect is released, which at the end
induces more sterility in the wild population [V-13]. Therefore, an optimum
radiation dose for each particular pest species and strain should be identified

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[V-14]. This will involve further R&D to address the different parameters and
possibilities, including the use of different gaseous environments for radiation
and the use of new sources of X rays, e.g. electron beams.

F. Shelf-Life and Shipment

In many areas of the world, pest problems are seasonal, and sterile insects
need only be released during specific times of the year. In insect species that
have a diapause (a quiescent state to survive adverse winter or other
conditions), physiological research is needed to allow manipulation of the
diapause to allow continuous mass-rearing. On the other hand, this behavioural
trait can also be manipulated to store insects during the time when they are not
required for release and this trait can be exploited when shipping sterile insects
[V-15]. However, many tropical and subtropical pest species have no diapause,
and these insects cannot be stored. Recent developments in the
cryopreservation of insect embryos [V-16] may provide a procedure for
stockpiling eggs.
Sterile insects, usually in the late pupal stage, are often transported over
long distances and some form of cooling and/or anoxia is used to prevent adult
emergence during transit. This procedure can reduce insect quality as the
pupae are shipped in cardboard containers containing cool packs to maintain a
low temperature. Durable equipment needs to be designed that would
maintain the correct temperature and atmospheric conditions, and increase the
safety of insect shipments. Research has also resulted in procedures to ship
fertile eggs from egg production facilities to satellite rearing facilities that rear,
sterilize, and release sterile adults. The egg reception facilities do not maintain
large adult colonies for egg production, and this greatly simplifies their
operational protocols. Research has demonstrated that medfly eggs can be
shipped over long distances for extended periods of time without losing their
viability and affecting the quality of the insects that are subsequently mass
reared. This concept is now in operation in the Moscamed Programme in
Guatemala and Mexico, where heat treated eggs from a genetic sexing strain
maintained at the mass-rearing facility in Guatemala are shipped daily to the
male rearing facility in Tapachula, Mexico [V-17].

G. Field Monitoring and Release

The area-wide approach to pest management requires that sterile insects

be distributed as adults over large areas, which is usually done by aircraft. The

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FIG. V-4. QuickBird images from northern Sudan (Courtesy QuickBird Digital Globe.)

current practice is to release sterile insects via an auger from a chilled container
in the aircraft. The logistics of this procedure for very large numbers of insects
are daunting, given that insect quality must be maintained at the highest
possible level. The technology to hold insects at a low temperature for several
hours in an aircraft, and to achieve the required distribution over a release
area, has greatly improved. Nevertheless, there is still a major concern about
the negative impact on insect quality from the stress of low temperature and
high insect density in the release machine. Research is ongoing to develop new
systems that are based on cryogenics (liquid CO2 to make dry ice pellets) as the
cooling component. The objective is to simplify maintenance, eliminate the
high electric load on the aircraft, and allow greater control over temperature
and humidity, thus minimizing damage to the sterile insects [V-18]. Computer
software linked to a satellite guided aerial navigation system is programmed to
deliver to the field an adjustable number of sterile insects (as needed in each
release block) and to turn off the release machine when the airplane is outside
the target blocks. The performances of the pilot, aircraft, and machine are
recorded, and can be analysed after each flight.
Other applications of Global Positioning Systems (GPSs) and
Geographic Information Systems (GISs) are being developed to dramatically
increase the accuracy and ease with which insect populations can be monitored
before, during, and after the implementation of a programme (see Fig. V-4).
This increase in precision will permit much better use of programme resources,
and rapid decisions to modify programme activities. The use of bar coded traps,
and the ability to enter field data directly into hand-held computers for rapid
downloading at the field centre, will increasingly make a major contribution to

103
the accuracy and accessibility of data, and enable managers to monitor the
efficiency of trapping personnel. Improved aircraft navigation systems also
facilitate the accuracy of the sterile fly releases.

H. Population Genetics

Population genetics using DNA analysis is now a very powerful tool to

study the structure of field populations of insects. Information on this can
greatly help in determining the origin of pest introductions and in identifying
potential target populations by assessing gene flow between populations and in
so doing infer the degree of migration between adjacent populations. In tsetse,
where some species have very wide distribution, this technology will be very
important to identify isolated populations and a CRP on this topic has now
been completed. The results have shown that there is much sub-structuring
within populations of certain species thus suggesting that relatively well
isolated populations can be identified for SIT intervention. The New World
Screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax, has been eradicated from all of Central
America through the use of SIT in an integrated approach and a sterile fly
barrier system is now in place in Panama to prevent re-invasion of this pest
from South America. The pest is still present in several islands in the Caribbean
and in South America, where it is endemic, and several countries are interested
in assessing the feasibility of using SIT to eradicate the pest. A CRP is
addressing this possibility by assessing the genetic relationships of screwworm
populations in South America and in the Caribbean.
Although modern DNA analytical tools provide very powerful ways to
assess gene flow between pest populations, they need to be accompanied by
mating compatibility evaluations. The lack of gene flow between two
populations clearly indicates that they are isolated. However, this does not
mean that mating could not take place between them if the populations were
brought together or that a particular colony producing sterile males would not
be effective against them both. That is why mating compatibility protocols are
needed for the different species that are amenable to SIT application.

I. Modern Biotechnology

Techniques used in modern biotechnology now enable genes to be

routinely introduced into the germ-line of many pest species [V-19]. This type
of transgenic technology may eventually benefit operational SIT programmes
in three areas: genetic sexing, marking and sterilization.

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 Genetic Sexing: The medfly genetic sexing technology successfully
transferred to operational SIT programmes is based on classical Mendelian
genetics. These strains are only 50% fertile, females show reduced viability and
they are not transferable to other species. These factors have encouraged the
search for molecular approaches to genetic sexing. Molecular approaches could
either lead to female death or the transformation of females into males. In
Drosophila, a tetracycline repression system has been used to construct female
killing systems [V-20, V-21], but as yet such a system has not been used in a pest
insect. Transforming females into males requires a detailed knowledge of sex
determination, but fortunately in Diptera, there is quite a lot of conservation at
the molecular level of many of the genes involved in this process. Using
Drosophila DNA sequences as probes, various sex determining genes have
been cloned from the medfly, and one of these genes, transformer (tra), has
been the target for transforming females into males by injecting double
stranded RNA (dsRNA) for part of the tra gene into embryos [V-22]. The
dsRNA prevents expression of the tra gene. Following the injection of dsRNA
into medfly embryos it was possible to demonstrate the transformation of
female embryos into functional fertile males [V-22].
Marking: Sterile insects for release are usually marked with a fluorescent
powder to distinguish them from wild insects. Genes encoding fluorescent
protein markers, i.e. green fluorescent protein (GFP) (see Fig. V-5) and red
fluorescent protein (DsRed) can now be introduced into pest insects to provide
a more secure and easier system for identifying sterile insects. Generalized
expression of the proteins can be obtained and the protein can be observed in
dead insects. Particular strains can show very strong levels of expression, but
the effect of this on the competitiveness of the insect is unknown.
Sterilization: Transgenic strains have been produced in Drosophila that
induce embryonic lethality in eggs fertilized by released fertile transgenic males
carrying a dominant lethal gene. The system must be conditional in some way
so that efficient mass rearing can be carried out. This is done by the addition of
antibiotics to the larval diet that shuts down the lethal gene [V-20, V-21].

FIG. V-5. Medfly eggs expressing GFP.

105
Recently, in the medfly, similar strains have been produced [V-23]. However,
these strains will require further refinement because they are not completely
sterile in matings with wild females, and the majority of the lethality occurs in
the late larval stage. These types of strain are at a very early stage of laboratory
development and much R&D is needed before they can be evaluated in any
sort of operational programme.

J. SIT Research for Malaria Mosquito Control

A new project was initiated in 2004 at the IAEA to assess the feasibility
of using SIT for mosquito control. Currently, research is focused on Anopheles
arabiensis, which is the second most important vector of malaria in Africa. The
project will seek to develop innovative ways of mass rearing large numbers of
mosquitoes, methods to eliminate females so that only sterile males will be
released, and appropriate ways to sterilize male mosquitoes. The project also
has a field component to collect and evaluate baseline data in potential field
sites where feasibility studies can be carried out in the future. Initial field work
has been carried out in northern Sudan and on the island of Réunion. A CRP
on development of standardized mass rearing systems for male Anopheles and
Aedes mosquitoes has been launched, and is anticipated to last until 2010. It is
intended to improve mosquito mass rearing efficiency to a level where it can be
applied in field pilot projects.

K. Conclusions

Global trends towards cleaner agriculture, less aggressive pest control

and increasing international trade will encourage the development of area-
wide approaches integrating the release of sterile insects. Continuing R&D will
permit the removal of some key technical and scientific constraints and the
introduction of new technological innovations will identify new target pests and
improve efficiency of current programmes. However, these conditions will not
guarantee successful implementation of SIT as part of AW–IPM programmes.
Effective management and organization are the key factors. Since the area-
wide approach also depends on the cooperation and participation of all
stakeholders in the target area, good communication is essential with attention
being paid to political, socioeconomic and environmental sensitivities.
A major unexploited opportunity is the integration of sterile insect
release with the release of biological control agents. When key pests are treated
with insecticides, biological control becomes difficult. However, when a key

106
pest can be managed using sterile insect release then mass-reared biological
control agents can also be used. This would indicate that the current biocontrol
industry commercially selling natural enemies [V-24, V-25] and the SIT appear
to be natural allies. The biocontrol industry already has the technical “know-
how” to manage the mass rearing, quality control, handling and shipping of
insects; and adding sterile insects to their products could provide a complete
“biological package”. A pioneer in this approach is Bio-Bee in Israel [V-26].
Radiation induced sterility is also being researched as part of an IAEA CRP in
the production and use of biological control agents [V-27] involving the use of
sterile insects as hosts/prey/vectors for parasitoids/predators/pathogens.

REFERENCES TO ANNEX V

[V-1] FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED

NATIONS/INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY/UNITED
STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Product Quality Control and
Shipping Procedures for Sterile Mass-Reared Tephritid Fruit Flies, Manual
Version 5.0, IAEA, Vienna (2003) http://www.iaea.org/programmes/nafa/d4/
index.html
[V-2] CACERES, C., et al., “Comparison of Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis
capitata) (Tephritidae) bisexual and genetic sexing strains: Development, evalu-
ation and economics”, Fruit Flies of Economic Importance (Proc. 6th Symp.
Stellenbosch, 2002) (BARNES, B.N., Ed.), Isteg Scientific Publications, Irene,
South Africa (2004) 367–381.
[V-3] HENDRICHS, M.A., WORNOAYPORN, V., KATSOYANNOS, B.I.,
HENDRICHS, J., Quality control method to measure agility to evade predators
in wild and mass reared Mediterranean fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae),
Florida Entomol. 89 (2006).
[V-4] TEAL, P.E.A., GOMEZ-SIMUTA, Y., PROVEAUX. A.T., Mating experience
and juvenile hormone enhance sexual signalling and mating in male Caribbean
fruit flies, Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 97 (2000) 3708–3712.
[V-5] SHELLY, T. E., KENNELLY, S.S., MCINNIS, D.O., Effect of adult diet on
signalling activity, mate attraction, and mating success in male Mediterranean
fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae), Florida Entomol. 85 (2002) 150–155. http://
www.fcla.edu/FlaEnt/fe85p150.pdf
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 Annex VI
ADVANCES IN MEDICAL RADIATION IMAGING FOR
CANCER DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

A. Introduction

Cancer management requires reliable diagnosis in order to identify the

primary tumour and assess its dissemination to surrounding tissues, as well as to
other organs and structures throughout the body. This process, technically
called ‘staging’, is of paramount importance in deciding the therapeutic
approach to be taken, since staging dictates prognosis and consequently
therapy. Imaging by means of radiation medicine techniques is usually the first
step in clinical management and diagnostic radiology, and nuclear medicine
studies play important roles in screening, staging, monitoring of treatment, and
in long term surveillance of cancer patients.
Until a few decades ago, medical imaging was dominated by planar
(projection view) X ray radiography aimed at detecting changes in tissue
density that may result from disturbances in cell function, possibly due to
cancer. More recently, as a result of improvements in computer technology
applied to imaging, digital techniques were introduced into medical radiation
imaging. Powerful diagnostic tomographic (cross-section view) modalities were
made available to clinicians, namely X ray computed tomography (CT),
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear medicine techniques such as
single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission
tomography (PET) (see Fig. VI-1). Diagnostic radiology techniques such as CT

FIG. VI-1. Overview of the most common medical imaging techniques. From left to right,
the images correspond to the classical planar X ray radiography (projection view), and to
the tomographic images (cross-section view) created by X ray computed tomography
(CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET).

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and conventional MRI depend on structural or anatomical abnormalities to
detect disease whereas nuclear medicine techniques, in particular PET, and to
some extent advanced MRI techniques, have the ability to detect cancer based
on molecular and biochemical processes within the tumour tissue.
The capacity of X ray, CT and MRI to detect millimetre sized
abnormalities is greater than that of nuclear medicine techniques, but the
ability of nuclear medicine to highlight functional abnormalities complements
the resolution of CT and MRI. Owing to the inherent resolution limitations of
nuclear medicine, its imaging applications, initially unique for many diseases,
have either been fully substituted or much less employed for some years,
particularly those modalities aimed at investigating anatomic structure in
cancer management. Instead, new applications appeared to be specifically
aimed at in vivo detection of abnormalities in processes that cannot be
effectively investigated in other ways. Among these, some examples are
SPECT imaging of myocardial perfusion (blood supply to the heart muscular
tissue) during physical or pharmacological stress, receptor expression and
density at the cellular level and antigen expression in cancer cells.
The following review will briefly describe these techniques, including MRI
and ultrasound (US), which, since they utilize non-ionizing electromagnetic
radiation and sound waves, respectively, are not ordinarily considered part of
radiation medicine, but their role is so important that they cannot be excluded.
The main focus, however, will be given to PET, one of the most powerful
diagnostic techniques that has appeared in the last ten years, which after the

FIG. VI-2. Breast cancer suspected of recurrence. CT identifies a possible metastasis in

the right lung (yellow arrows) that does not show any FDG (see below) uptake in PET
imaging. PET, on the other hand, identifies an unknown metastasis on the contra-lateral
side (red arrows).

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appearance of hybrid machines (PET–CT scanners) took on a very important
role in cancer management. It will not replace CT as a first-line investigation,
because of its cost and resolution limitation, but it appears to be very helpful in
situations where CT does not provide all the information required by clinical
oncologists. These could be: differentiating ‘tumoural’ masses from benign
lesions; identifying lymph nodes already invaded by cancerous cells;
differentiating residual tumour or local tumour relapses from scarring and
necrosis and detecting unsuspected distant metastases (Fig. VI-2) that would
affect patient prognosis and treatment. The ability of PET, and other upcoming
techniques, to investigate diseases at the molecular level will produce a
‘molecular imaging revolution’, which will lead to a much greater ability to
characterize diseases, diagnose them at a very early stage, treat them effectively,
and monitor the clinical outcome of such treatment.

B. Role of Medical Radiation Imaging in Cancer Management

Cure rate in cancer patients is strongly dependent on the stage of the

disease at the time of its diagnosis, and early detection remains a key issue. In
medical imaging, early detection depends on many factors, including spatial
resolution, i.e. the ability to discriminate cancer lesions from normal tissue
when their volumes are still very small. A considerable range of spatial
resolutions can be achieved within the spectrum of medical imaging. They
range from fractions of a millimetre in MRI and CT to a few millimetres in PET
and several millimetres in SPECT.
Although the distinction is somewhat arbitrary, medical radiation
imaging techniques can be divided into anatomical (structural) and functional.
Imaging can be called anatomical to the extent that it reports on macroscopic
pathology, guides decisions based on disease stage, has tissue biopsy as its
reference standard, and provides information regarding surgical decisions. In
contrast, functional imaging has the ability to detect cancer based on molecular
and biochemical processes within the tumour tissue, in some cases prior to any
tissue alterations becoming detectable using anatomical imaging.

C. Structural Imaging

C.1. X ray CT

The most important imaging technique in detecting and diagnosing

cancer remains X ray CT, which is based on the principle that when X rays pass

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 FIG. VI-3. Lung CT examination showing a solitary nodule in the right lung.

through the body they are absorbed or attenuated at differing levels, according
to the density and atomic number of the different tissues, creating a matrix or
profile of X ray beams of different strength. This X ray profile is registered on
a detector, thus creating an image. Radiographic film has been the main
medical radiation imaging detector for many years, and is now being replaced
by digital X ray detector types. In the case of CT, the film is replaced by a
detector which measures the X ray profile. Inside the CT scanner is a rotating
frame that has an X ray tube mounted on one side and the detector mounted on
the opposite side. A fan beam of X rays is created as the rotating frame spins
the X ray tube and detector around the patient. Each time the X ray tube and
detector make one complete rotation, an image or slice is acquired. This slice is
collimated (focused) to a thickness that ranges from less than 1 mm to 10 mm
using special diaphragms in front of the X ray tube and X ray detector. As the
X ray tube and detector make this rotation, the detector takes numerous
snapshots (called profiles) of the attenuated X ray beam. Typically, in one lap,
about 1000 profiles are sampled. Each profile is then backwards reconstructed
(or back-projected) by a dedicated computer into a 2-D image of the slice that
was scanned.
Since its development in the early 1970s, CT has become the standard for
the evaluation of patients with malignancies because of its excellent definition
of anatomical details. The slip ring technology and faster computer systems
have laid the foundations for helical data acquisition, allowing fast volumetric
scanning and multiphase enhancement techniques. State-of-the-art multi-slice
helical CT permits fast acquisition of volumetric and CT angiographic images,
and spiral CT scanners can now image entire anatomical regions, such as the
lungs, in 20 to 30 seconds (Fig. VI-3). Instead of acquiring a stack of individual
slices that may be misaligned due to slight patient motion or breathing (and
lung/abdomen motion) between each slice acquisition, spiral CT acquires a
volume of data with the patient anatomy all in one position. This volume data
set can then be computer reconstructed to provide 3-D pictures of complex
structures. The resulting 3-D CT images allow medical physicists and radiation

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oncologists to visualize tumour masses in three dimensions, which help them
plan the treatment. Recently, to overcome problems imposed by respiratory
movements, respiration-correlated, or 4-D CT (4dCT) has been introduced. As
regards CT scanning, this represents a breakthrough in imaging, because 4dCT
generates both spatial and temporal information on organ mobility. In this
technique, the respiratory waveform is synchronously recorded with CT
acquisition, and multiple CT slices are acquired at each table position for at
least the duration of one full respiratory cycle. This yields CT data sets for up to
20 phases of the respiratory cycle. Multi-slice CT scanners equipped with
respiratory gating hardware, and 4-D imaging software are now commercially
available. Preliminary studies indicate that a single 4dCT scan is sufficient to
replace the use of six rapid CT scans for generating the internal tumour volume
of mobile peripheral lung tumours.

C.2. Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Research on MRI was initially conducted in the early 1970s and the first
MRI prototypes were tested on clinical patients in 1980. The use of MRI to
visualize morphological alterations rests on its ability to detect changes in
proton density and magnetic spin relaxation times, which are characteristic of
the environment presented by the diseased tissue. During the examination, a
radio signal is turned on and off, and subsequently the energy that is absorbed
by different atoms in the body is echoed or reflected back out of the body.
These echoes are continuously measured by the MR scanner and a digital
computer reconstructs these echoes into images. The benefit of MRI is that it
can easily acquire direct views of the body in almost any orientation, while CT
scanners typically acquire images perpendicular to the long body axis. MRI is
one of the best diagnostic exams for imaging the brain, the vessels of the brain,
the eyes, the inner ear, the neck, the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine, the
upper abdomen (including liver, kidney, spleen, pancreas and abdominal
vessels), the pelvis and hips, the male and female reproductive systems, and the
bladder (Fig. VI-4). This is because MRI can provide exquisite contrast details
between different tissues with very similar structural densities, for instance grey
and white brain matter. Also for MRI, where the response is proportional to
proton density, the high water content of tissues provides for a strong inherent
signal enabling the resolution of small differences in hydrogen concentration.
The anatomical definition of organs is therefore very good with MRI, which is
commonly used for better characterization of lesions and for patients allergic to
the iodinated contrast agents used with CT. MRI is also developing a
tremendous potential for not only showing the structure or anatomy of the

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FIG. VI-4. Pelvic MRI examination, showing excellent anatomical detail of pelvic struc-
tures.

body, but also the functions or workings of the body. The advancements in MRI
(e.g. fast acquisition protocols with multiple new pulse sequences and new MRI
contrast agents) are beyond the scope of this discussion. Applications of MRI
in functional imaging (advanced MRI) will be briefly presented below.

C.3. Ultrasound

Ultrasound does not involve the use of ionizing radiation, and hence
ordinarily it would not be covered in a review on radiation medicine. However,
its role in medical imaging and in cancer management cannot be overlooked.
The ultrasound process involves placing a small device, called a transducer,
against the skin of the patient near the region of interest, for example, against
the back to image the kidneys. This transducer produces a stream of inaudible,
high frequency sound waves that penetrate into the body and reflect from the
organs inside. The transducer detects sound waves as they echo back from the
internal structures and contours of the organs. Different tissues reflect these
sound waves differently, causing a signature that can be measured and
transformed into an image. These waves are received by the ultrasound
machine and turned into live pictures with the use of computers and
reconstruction software. Since high frequency sound waves cannot penetrate
bone or air, they are mostly used in imaging soft tissues and fluid-filled spaces.

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Ultrasound is good at non-invasively imaging a number of soft tissue organs
without X rays, namely heart, pelvis and reproductive organs, kidneys, liver,
pancreas, gall bladder, eye, thyroid, blood vessels and the foetus.

D. Functional Imaging

Anatomical imaging modalities such as CT and conventional MRI rely on

structural changes or anatomical abnormalities to detect cancer. In some
instances, however, this is not sufficient and false negative results may be
found. A typical example is lymph node involvement in metastatic disease. In
these cases, nodal invasion by cancer cells may be suspected when CT or MRI
is used, only when nodes are found to be enlarged and therefore stand out as
being abnormal. However, this is not always the case, as cancer dissemination
can be found even in normal sized lymph nodes. In contrast, functional imaging
techniques have the ability to detect cancerous involvement based on
molecular and biochemical processes within the tumour tissue. It includes
visualizing variations in the tissue levels of specific bio-molecules and their
turnover, and this information is directly linked to the tissue’s biochemistry.
In recent years, the major advances in imaging and the combination of
molecular biology and the imaging sciences have merged into a new research
field named ‘molecular imaging’. It includes all imaging modalities used in
cancer imaging, and new applications continue being developed. Technologies
which are being used include PET, SPECT, MR spectroscopy, functional MRI,
dynamic MRI, dynamic CT, etc.
Although this review has its focus on nuclear imaging techniques, the role
played by magnetic resonance in the field of molecular imaging cannot be
disregarded. Recent advances in dynamic MR imaging (diffusion-weighted
imaging, perfusion imaging), and spectroscopic imaging all have in common the
ability to provide quantitative cellular, haemodynamic (blood dynamic) and
metabolic information that may enhance understanding of tumour biology,
improve the assessment of treatment response, more accurately determine
tumour activity during therapy, and differentiate between recurrent tumours
and treatment related complications. The two most widely used MR
spectroscopy techniques involve acquiring resonance signals from hydrogen-1
nuclei in molecules other than water, or phosphorus-31 containing molecules.
Functional MRI makes it possible to analyse the response of the brain to
different external stimuli, and thereby to study normal brain function and
different brain diseases.
Nuclear medicine functional imaging techniques such as gamma camera
imaging, SPECT, and PET, have the ability to detect cancerous involvement

116
based on molecular and biochemical processes within the tumour tissue.
SPECT and PET procedures involve the injection of an appropriate
radionuclide usually bound to a biologically active ligand (an extracellular
substance that binds to receptors). Imaging is performed after a suitable time
for the ligand to be incorporated into the target organ(s).

D.1. Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography

SPECT is an imaging technique that relies on drugs that are labelled with
atoms that emit at least one gamma ray when they decay. The most commonly
used radionuclides in SPECT imaging are technetium-99m, gallium-67, iodine-
131 and thallium-201. Since gamma rays are normally emitted equally in every
direction, it is necessary to use a collimator in front of the detector that allows
only the gamma rays emitted in the direction of the detector to be registered. In
this way, the collimator defines the direction of the radiation when it is
detected. By moving the detector completely around the patient, a 360º image
is obtained. Mathematical methods are used to trace the emitted gamma rays
back in the direction that they were emitted in order to produce the image.

D.2. Positron Emission Tomography

PET is a very similar technique to SPECT in that they both provide

information about the metabolism of a disease. Isotopes used in PET imaging
are typically produced in a cyclotron by bombarding a stable element with
protons, deuterons, or helium nuclei. The resulting isotope will decay by
positron emission. PET imaging then utilizes physiologic substrates labelled
with these positron emitting isotopes. The emitted positron travels only a
minimal distance (about 2 mm maximum distance for fluorine-18) before it
undergoes an annihilation reaction with the production of two 511 keV
photons that travel in opposite directions to one another. Localization of the
annihilation event is achieved by placing two detectors on opposite sides of the
patient. When the photons are detected at the same time, the position of the
emitted positron can be traced back with a straight line (Fig. VI-5). In this way,
the spatial position of the emitted photons is defined without the use of
collimators. This represents the greatest advantage of PET over SPECT. The
result is enhanced resolution (by a factor of 2–3).
Nuclear medicine imaging does not have the resolution of anatomical
imaging such as MRI or CT. If detailed anatomical information is required,
then nuclear medicine by itself is not the imaging modality of choice. However,
great advances have been made with the fusion of nuclear medicine images
with CT or MRI and the combination gives accurate anatomical localization of

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 FIG. VI-5. Physical principles of PET.

function. The great advantage of nuclear medicine imaging is its functional

nature, for example, its ability to assess whether a residual mass after therapy
for lymphoma contains a viable tumour or its ability to detect small melanoma
metastases. In such situations, anatomical imaging alone relies on size, which
has been shown to have suboptimal accuracy.

E. Recent Advances in Cancer Nuclear Imaging Techniques

In the last decade, the most rapidly advancing modality of clinical

functional imaging has been PET, which has moved from being a research tool
into a common clinical practice with the use of fluorine-18(F-18)-2-fluoro-2-
deoxyglucose (FDG) as a technique for evaluation of lung cancer and lung
nodules. In this field, PET was found to be able to provide additional
information to the clinicians dealing with this type of cancer. The same model
was subsequently applied to other cancer settings and the application of PET in
many different tumour types has been extensively evaluated and proved to be
beneficial.
The introduction of hybrid PET–CT scanning technology in 2000 and
early 2001 was a further step. Clinicians became more aware of the functional
information supplied by PET when the ‘unclear’ background was substituted
by a clear CT anatomical roadmap. This led to the final acceptance of PET into
clinical oncology and other aspects of medicine like cardiovascular disease.
With regard to cancer patient management, PET is affecting treatment strategy
and planning, leading to more aggressive therapy in potentially curable cases
and preventing operative procedures or guiding palliative radiation therapy in

118
those cases that are no longer deemed curable. The ability to combine the
functional information from SPECT and PET imaging with the structural
information obtained from CT or MRI studies provides a powerful tool for the
clinician to make an accurate diagnosis. Mathematical techniques are used to
combine the two sets of data into a single image. Several algorithms are in use,
each adopting different approaches. Applying combined SPECT–CT or PET–
CT systems to conduct functional and anatomical imaging during one session
spares precious time and resolves many of the problems encountered during
the process of image registration and image fusion by avoiding changes in the
patient’s position during data acquisition. Co-registration of the PET and CT
data is a benefit of combined PET–CT units. The combined PET–CT images
are more effective than PET images alone in localizing neoplastic (tumour)
lesions precisely and in distinguishing normal uptake from juxtaposed
neoplastic lesions. The evidence shows that PET–CT fusion data can lead to a
significant change in diagnosis in about 20% of oncological cases. Even in cases
where no major change in diagnosis occurred, there is greater diagnostic
confidence, improved diagnostic accuracy, and fewer equivocal lesions for
which management decisions remain difficult. PET–CT may affect patient
treatment significantly and improve specificity more than sensitivity. The
results of PET–CT exams can impact on patient management in 25–35% of
patients. Settings in which PET–CT imaging is particularly useful include
radiation therapy planning, preoperative surgery/biopsy planning, evaluation
of head and neck tumours, and the detection of recurrent abdominal and pelvic
malignancies. PET and CT examinations can be acquired on separate units.
However, in such cases, consistent patient positioning and sophisticated image
fusion software programs are required to ensure proper co-registration of the
images.

E.1. Radiopharmaceutical Aspects of PET Functional Imaging

Image analysis or processing is only one of the technical areas that

influence the clinical success of PET. The production of radionuclides that emit
positrons and the development of molecules that can be labelled with these
radionuclides are also active areas of research. Although nearly all the PET
studies around the world are performed with [18F]2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose
(FDG), other radiopharmaceuticals labelled with 18F such as [18F]fluoroethyl-
tyrosin, [18F]fluromethyl-thymidine or different positron emitters, for example
gallium-68 as [68Ga]DOTATOC or 11C as [11C] choline (Fig. VI-6) or
methinione, etc., are used to provide probes with increased selectivity and
specificity for different functions and diseases. The patho-physiological basis
for the application of radiopharmaceuticals in clinical PET comes from the

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FIG. V-6. Prostate cancer: relapse after radiation therapy treatment; PET scan using C-11
choline detects a recurrence that went undetected both after CT scan and FDG PET
(arrow).

consideration that chemical disturbances will almost always precede structural

abnormalities. The result of diagnostic procedures using imaging probes aimed
at detecting these biochemical abnormalities will allow an earlier detection of
disease. Like conventional nuclear medicine, the principle of PET is based on
the concept of tracer kinetics, which is a measurement of physiological
activities resulting from biochemical changes. Unlike conventional nuclear
medicine, PET measures biochemical activity at a more basic molecular level
because the probe is by itself a simple molecule identical to or indistinguishable
from the basic biochemical substrates. The common positron emitters
(fluorine-18, carbon-18, nitrogen-13, oxygen-15) are basic elements of the
backbone in organic chemistry, implying that there is an unlimited potential in
the investigation of various biochemical pathways. These radioisotopes retain
their normal biological function and allow the synthesis of numerous positron
emitting radiopharmaceuticals.
Because of the short half-life of positron emitters, ranging from nearly
2 hours to a few seconds, hospital based biomedical cyclotrons with low energy,
typically 10–18 MeV, are often installed at clinical sites to take advantage of the
full spectrum of available PET isotopes. These are usually referred to as ‘baby-
cyclotrons’, and approximately 20–25% of the PET medical institutions in the
USA and Western Europe have one installed. Financial considerations for
installing and running even a low energy cyclotron have led to the design of
networks consisting of a large PET medical centre having its own cyclotron,
and four or five ‘satellite’ clinics equipped with PET scanners. Hereby,
production costs are reduced, the large PET centre offers the full range of

120
clinical procedures, even those based on short-lived isotopes, and the satellite
clinics offer PET scans based only on FDG, which remains the most widely
used PET radiopharmaceutical at the present time.

E.2. Clinical Applications of PET

The pivotal role of techniques such as CT, MRI and US are undoubtedly
first-line modalities to be employed in patients affected by cancer. However,
they rely on anatomical landmarks (i.e. morphological alterations due to the
tumour) to identify tumour involvement and this leaves the clinicians with a
grey area of cases that require further investigation. This is the area where PET
proves most useful because of its capability of detecting cancer involvement in
otherwise normal tissues and structures. The following is a concise description
of already established applications of PET in cancer management. Many
others, including non-cancer related conditions such as cardiovascular and
brain degenerative diseases are under investigation and look promising.

E.2.1. Lung Cancer

Until the advent of PET, a consistent percentage of patients undergoing

surgery for non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLC) experienced a tumour relapse
due to the presence of metastases undetectable by available staging modalities
(CT; US; mediastinoscopy). This was the first proven clinical application of
FDG–PET and it was found to be significantly more accurate than structural
imaging methods such as CT scanning for determining whether pulmonary
nodules are benign or malignant, and for investigating tumour dissemination
(staging). High levels of uptake of FDG are very accurate in characterizing
pulmonary mass lesions that are either unsuitable for, or that have failed,
histopathological (microscopic study of diseased tissue) characterization. PET
has also been shown to be more accurate than CT for staging mediastinum
(central compartment of the thoracic cavity) involvement. The best non-
invasive results have been obtained by correlating the results of both PET and
CT images. They conclusively prove that when PET is used in addition to CT to
evaluate intrathoracic lymph nodes for malignancy, the accuracy of the
assessment is significantly greater than for CT alone. In addition, PET can
detect unsuspected distant metastasis in patients with potentially-resectable
stage I-II disease.

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E.2.2. Lymphoma

The incidence of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) has been increasing

by approximately 3–4% per year for the last three decades. Hodgkin’s disease
is much less common than NHL. Both Hodgkin’s disease and NHL are
amenable to curative therapy and many of the affected patients are young with
otherwise good life expectancies. FDG–PET imaging can play a significant role
in the staging and management of patients with lymphoma. Treatment for NHL
is dependent on several factors, including tumour grade, and for this purpose it
is broadly grouped into low-, intermediate-, and high-grade disease subgroups.
There is a direct correlation between the degree of FDG uptake and the
histological grade of lymphoma. High-grade tumours demonstrate greater
metabolic activity (and greater FDG accumulation) than low grade tumours.
For Hodgkin’s disease, the stage at presentation and tumour cell type
determine the patients’ overall prognosis and optimal method for treatment.
Since the anatomical extent of disease is the single most important factor
influencing the relapse-free duration and overall survival in patients with
Hodgkin’s disease, accurate staging prior to the initiation of therapy is essential
for proper patient management. The optimal staging method for lymphoma
should be able to identify all sites of disease non-invasively.
Conventional imaging with CT or MR has been the primary means to
evaluate and stage patients with lymphoma. These modalities can reveal
anatomical abnormalities suggestive of tumour involvement. Conventional
imaging is primarily dependent on lymph node size for the determination of
tumour involvement. Generally, lymph nodes greater than 1 cm in size are
considered suggestive of tumour involvement (depending on anatomical
location). Unfortunately, normal sized lymph nodes can harbour malignancy
and enlarged nodes may be reactive. Furthermore, infiltrative involvement of
the liver, spleen, and bone marrow cannot be accurately detected by
conventional imaging modalities. As a result of these limitations, up to 36% of
lesions seen on PET images may not be visible on CT or MRI examinations
and, overall, FDG PET examinations are more sensitive in the evaluation of
lymphoma patients.

E.2.3. Breast Cancer

Routine evaluation for recurrent or residual disease after breast cancer

treatment includes physical examination and imaging tests such as
mammography, CT, MRI, sonography, and radionuclide whole body imaging.
These tests are frequently performed as routine clinical follow-up or are
prompted by rising levels of tumour markers or, in some cases, by patient

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symptoms. Some metastatic sites such as lymph nodes or bone marrow are not
easily depicted by conventional imaging modalities, resulting in delayed
diagnosis and therapeutic interventions. Several authors have provided
evidence that PET is more sensitive for establishing the extent of metastatic
breast cancer involvement. A prospective survey showed PET to have a
considerable impact on staging and managing breast cancer patients. The use of
PET altered the clinical stage in 36% of patients and the clinical management
in 60%. The results are in keeping with a previous report suggesting that FDG
PET added information on the extent of disease in 29% of patients studied,
mainly through detection of additional lymph node involvement. Importantly,
PET can uncover unknown lymph node metastases and unknown distant
metastases in 20% of the entire population studied. It is noteworthy that there
was a consistent fraction of patients whose stage was not altered by PET but
whose treatment nevertheless was managed differently after PET. This suggests
that PET provided the referring physicians with additional pertinent staging
information. For instance, in patients with stage IV disease, additional nodal or
distant metastatic disease detected by PET may not result in a stage change but
may result in different management plans.

E.2.4. Head and Neck Cancer

Clinical studies have demonstrated that FDG–PET scans provide

additional information for the pre-treatment detection of lymph node
metastases, localization of unknown primary tumours in patients with cervical
lymph node metastases, and for the detection of tumour recurrence after
radiotherapy. FDG–PET proved to be more sensitive (78–100% probability of
a positive test among patients with disease) than CT–MRI (57–85%) in
detecting primary tumours in the head and neck area. Some false negative PET
results were observed in micrometastatic disease, while false positive findings
occurred in inflammatory lymph nodes. In addition, anatomical structures like
tonsils and salivary glands can take up considerable amounts of FDG leading to
false positive results. Thus, sensitivity and specificity (probability of a negative
test among patients without disease) of FDG–PET in lymph node staging is
higher than for MRI or CT. However, FDG–PET cannot replace invasive
diagnostic procedures.

E.2.5. Cervical Cancer

PET scanning is increasingly used in the initial evaluation of patients with

invasive cervical cancer using FDG. Abnormal uptake can be anticipated in
91% of the primary tumours. Compared with surgical staging, PET scanning

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has a sensitivity of 72% and a specificity of 92% in detecting para-aortic
metastasis. FDG–PET is useful in re-evaluating women with cervical cancer
after therapy. Whole-body FDG–PET is a sensitive and specific tool for the
detection of recurrent cervical cancer in patients who have clinical findings
implying the presence of a recurrence. A larger prospective trial would be
needed to determine whether this modality should be used routinely in
conjunction with, or in lieu of, other imaging studies to detect recurrent disease
in a broader population of cervical cancer patients. However the impact of
routine PET scanning in patient treatment and in terms of tumour control and
survival remains to be established. The cost–benefit of routine PET scanning in
cervical cancer patients is a matter that will require future research as well.

E.2.6. Prostate Cancer

This is an area where the ability of PET to utilize different biological

substrates to investigate cancer proves of great value. Indeed, although FDG
imaging proved very effective in investigating almost all types of cancer,
diagnosis of primary prostate cancer is hampered by the low glucose metabolic
rates and low FDG tumour uptake. In addition, a significant number of
metastatic lesions from prostate cancer will also not accumulate FDG
(probably due to a low glucose metabolic rate). 11C-choline is a PET tracer that
can be used for prostate cancer imaging, since choline is one of the essential
elements of phospholipids in cell membranes. Malignant tumours show a high
cell proliferation rate and increased metabolism of cell membrane components,
which will lead to an increased uptake of choline. Another benefit of PET
imaging is that it can identify lymph node metastases that are outside the field
of modified lymphadenectomy surgery. 18F-fluorocholine has been developed
in order to overcome difficulties associated with the short half-life of carbon-11
labelled compounds. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of 11C-choline-
PET in the diagnosis of lymph node metastasis of prostate cancer are superior
to traditional radiological imaging using CT and MRI.

E.2.7. Brain Tumours

In general, FDG–PET is of little value in primary brain neoplasms

(abnormal, disorganized growth in tissue) because of the great glucose uptake
in normal brain tissue. There are, however, some fields where PET proved
helpful such as assessing tumour extension and in detecting some malignant
transformations. The general approach to treatment of brain neoplasms is
surgical resection of solitary lesions or limited disease, followed by radiation
therapy (with or without chemotherapy). Solitary lesions may alternatively be

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treated with local field radiotherapy or stereotactic radiosurgery, while
multiple or metastatic lesions receive whole-brain radiation. Anatomical
alterations and scarring after therapy can impair proper identification of
residual or recurrent neoplasms in conventional imaging studies. PET studies
with FDG have shown that recurrent tumour exhibits hypermetabolism of
glucose, while non-necrotic irradiated brain shows hypometabolism, and
necrotic brain has no detectable metabolic activity.

E.3. PET in Radiation Therapy Planning

The definition of target volume in radiation treatment planning is based

essentially on CT and MRI, both having a very high resolution and describing
anatomical structures with accuracy. The concept of 3-D radiotherapy is based
on morphological data delivered by these imaging techniques. However, in the
last few years new methods of tumour visualization have been introduced into
radiation oncology practice. Techniques like PET, SPECT or MRS are able to
visualize biological pathways in tumours, giving additional information about
the metabolism, physiology and molecular biology of tumour tissue. A new
class of biological images, showing specific biological characteristics,
complements the anatomical information of traditional radiological techniques.
These imaging techniques, having the property to show biological
characteristics, are also called molecular imaging or functional imaging
techniques.
The integration of FDG–PET in radiation treatment planning is still at
the investigational stage. In one study the advantage of FDG–PET was the
detection of additional lymph node metastases. While the integration of FDG–
PET in radiation treatment planning led to an enlargement of the radiation
field sizes in some cases, it led to a reduction in other cases. This meant that the
parotid gland could be spared in the case of head and neck tumours. The image
fusion between FDG–PET and MRI–CT was useful in both tumour volume
determinations, and for the sparing of the normal tissue. In the majority of
treatment planning studies for lung cancer patients, significant implications of
the value of FDG–PET in lymph node diagnosis were confirmed, which were in
agreement with the results of meta-analyses. These showed that the mean
sensitivity and specificity for FDG–PET were 85% and 87%, respectively,
while for CT they were 66% and 71%, respectively. It was also shown that PET
was superior to CT in differentiating malignant tissue from atelectasis (collapse
of a part of the lung or the whole lung). This may help to spare normal tissue
and to reduce the subjective judgement of the radiation oncologist in target
delineation (Fig. VI-7).

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FIG. VI-7. Lung cancer: target volume reduction after PET examination. On a CT scan
(upper left) mediastinal lymph nodes appear enlarged (arrow) and are included in the
treatment plan (bottom left). An FDG–PET scan, however, does not confirm such a
finding, as no FDG uptake is detected (arrow). The target volume is therefore modified to
exclude the mediastinal lymph nodes in the new treatment plan (bottom right).

There are no data in the literature concerning the use of PET

investigations in radiation treatment planning of prostate cancer. However,
there are data about the use of another biological imaging method, namely
hydrogen-1 magnetic resonance (1H-MR) spectroscopy. In trials comparing the
tumour volume defined using MRI, with the tumour volume defined using 1H-
MR spectroscopy and the histo-pathologically determined volume, the addition
of 1H-MR spectroscopy showed a significant improvement in tumour volume
demarcation.

E.4. Post-treatment Evaluation

The objective evaluation of the response to treatment (either chemo or

radiation therapy or both) remains an elusive goal in clinical oncology.
Conventional imaging with CT and MRI does not always provide sufficient
evidence of therapeutic results since volumetric changes, on which these
techniques rely, take place later on during therapy, or because tumour mass can
be replaced with fibrotic tissue with no significant volume reduction. These
modalities are not sufficient to discriminate between residual malignant and

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still-viable cancer tissue. Also, fibrotic/necrotic tissue that often results from
radiotherapy may not be distinguishable from cancer itself.
This ability to discriminate viable from non-viable tissue was extensively
evaluated in lymphomas (both Hodgkin’s disease and non-Hodgkin’s
lymphomas) where PET is a strong predictor of progression-free and overall
survival. This proved to be particularly useful in selecting patients for resective
surgery which is associated with considerable morbidity. It was also found that
PET is useful for early treatment evaluation, following the completion of a few
chemotherapy cycles whose metabolic effects are detected before tumour
shrinkage could be detected by CT. Early detection of subclinical response
could be used to adapt specific treatment options for individual patients.

F. Conclusions

Radiation medicine imaging techniques continue to play a major role

both in cancer management, aiming to achieve earlier diagnoses, more accurate
staging and therefore more accurate treatment decisions and planning, and in
monitoring treatment effects. Of these modalities, CT scanning and, where
appropriate MRI, will remain first-line modalities. PET is also one of the major
breakthroughs in this area in the last decade.
It was a long journey that led PET from a purely scientific method of
probing important physiological variables to an imaging tool of recognized
value in clinical practice. More recently, the appearance of hybrid machines
(PET–CT scanners) gave this technique a very important role to play in cancer
management. It will not replace CT as first-line investigation, because of costs
and resolution limitations, but it seems to be very helpful in situations where
CT scans do not provide all the information required by clinical oncologists:
differentiating tumour masses from benign lesions, identifying lymph node
invasion by cancerous cells, differentiating residual tumour from scarring and
necrosis, and detecting unsuspected distant metastases that would affect
patient prognosis and treatment. The ability of PET to investigate diseases
down to the molecular level will bring about the ‘molecular imaging revolution’
making it easier to diagnose cancer at a very early stage, characterize disease
conditions and treat various diseases effectively. In addition, it is an effective
tool for monitoring the effectiveness of treatment strategies in a more
individual approach to patient management.

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06-13851
 NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY REVIEW 2006
NUCLEAR
TECHNOLOGY
REVIEW
2006

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International Atomic Energy Agency

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